Into The Stars
by silenceofthequeen
Summary: Over the years she was meant to be someone insignificant, he was not supposed to allow her to get too close. But she had been the constant face Klaus would see in his head, no matter how much he wouldn't admit it to himself. Caroline struggles to keep her parents happy, and with it she has to play the role of a gracious host to a family she hasn't seen in years. KLAROLINE. AU/AH.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

_It was summer. Or at least it was how she remembered it to be. The light breeze warmed her skin and the glow of the afternoon sun reflected on it. She tentatively looked up the sky to find it tinged in shades of yellow and crimson and amalgamating in some areas, making the sky look like as if an artist has splayed his watercolors on it. She smiled and looked ahead of her. She had some distance to go._

_She clutched the package against her chest. It was wrapped in brown paper and secured with packaging tape. She was bringing it to her father's friend who lived a little off from town. She loved doing chores for him, it made her feel accomplished, needed, and every time she finishes a task for him, his returning smile would be worth every step she took. _

_The houses on each side of the street became more distant from each other as she went on, tall trees were also denser on this side of the town, the road less frequented, and from time to time, a wild animal could be sighted but nothing that made Caroline scared._

_She hummed to herself as she secured her arms over the pack, her small body looked as if it was unable to hold it but it was lighter than it looks. It would be a lie if she said that it never made her curious what her Daddy made her bring to his friends but her mother would always remind her never to poke her nose where it doesn't belong. So she keeps her pretty little nose to herself._

_Caroline adjusted the thing careful not to let it drop or she would never hear the end of it from her dad. She was already walking through the wide driveway that led to the grandiose foyer where she was to make her delivery. She had always admired this home, no, mansion, it was more fit to call it a mansion because it was so vast and little Caroline Forbes could fit her entire house in there five more times. Or six. And then put them on top of each other four times._

_As she reached the bottom of the stone staircase that led to their front door, she paused to watch in awe the delicate features of the house, it was as if an ancient Greek sculptor went down from the heavens to carve vivid details on the surfaces of the structure. She would have traced the flowers and leaves that intertwined along the balusters but her hands were tight around the package and that reminded her that she has a task to be done. That propelled her forward, up the stairs. There would be time to admire later, or next time._

_Cautiously, she placed the package near her feet and tried to reach the door bell on the right hand side of the broad double doors. She lifted her arm and stood on her tiptoes but she was too small and her endeavor was futile. So she took a deep breath, fisted her tiny hand and knocked on the door instead. Her knocks made a dull, echoing inside the house which made her think that it probably might be empty. She knocked again. _

_"__Hello?" Caroline called out but her voice seemed drowned by the vastness of the area and the soundlessness of the surroundings. "Anyone?" She knocked again a few times before sighing to herself and picked up the package as carefully as she placed it down._

_She gave the door one last resigned look before she turned around, descended the steps and went left to go around the house and try the back door. This was what she remembered her father telling her to do if no one comes for her on the front door. He said that his friend had given him permission to go round the house and look for their housekeep Mrs. S. and leave the deliveries to her. _

_Caroline trudged on the cemented foot walk, still humming a tune to herself and bouncing slightly on her feet. Just then a door opened and out came a woman. She was in her late fifties, she had her hair, which were streaked with silver, placed in a bun over her head, she had eyes the color of warm cocoa, the edges of which would crinkle delightfully with a broad smile whenever Caroline comes. _

_"__Oh there she is!" she would squeal as the little girl comes near to her. He wiped her hands on the apron that was tied around her waist and gave Caroline an excited wave. _

_She would have waved enthusiastically back but she settled for a bright grin and followed through a door that led directly to the kitchen, "Hello Mrs. S.!"_

_As soon as she entered the room, she was enveloped with a warm and mouthwatering smell of freshly baked cake. "Red velvets?" Caroline was practically jumping on her toes as the gentle lady relieved her of the package. She made a bee line towards the oven and peeked through the glass. Her eyes widened with pleasure as she watched the cupcakes rise from their cups._

_"__Careful. They won't be ready for a few more minutes." Mrs. S. warned her as she cleaned the counter from all the mess she made as she prepared to bake._

_Caroline was kept fascinated in front of the oven as she gave the lady a nod, "I won't touch it, I promise." From the corner of her eye, she saw Mrs. S. picking up the package she brought and went to a door where Caroline has never been to before. Whenever she comes here, she was only allowed on the front porch or inside the kitchen. Taking her eyes off the little cakes, she followed with her gaze where the lady disappeared to._

_"__Remember Caroline, never poke your nose where it doesn't belong." She whispered to herself as she took a few anxious steps. As she reached the threshold, she gripped her skirt tightly and looked around her, waiting for someone to pounce on her for being a sneaky little one. Pushing her mother's advise away, she took one little step in front of her and then another, then another, until she reached a room that was dimly lit with a few lamps on the walls. _

_There was a wide and tall window to her right and a heavy curtain of velvet and silk was draped on each side, the remaining afternoon glow of the setting sun, illuminating the room in shades of orange and yellow. There was a long table in the center which was made of polished wood and tall chairs rimmed it. There were doors on each corner of the room and she idly wondered to which door Mrs. S. went to._

_Nevertheless, she set it upon herself which one to open. She knew she was disobeying a lot of her parents' rules right now, she knew that if they learn of what she did she'll never be allowed to come back again nor will she ever be able to bring packages for anyone ever again. So she pushed herself forward, crossed the room, selected a door, wrapped her hand around the knob and twisted it ever so gently, careful not to make a noise._

_The door squeaked in protest and her heart hammered in her chest, she looked around, her curly, blonde ponytails, whipping across her face, and her blue eyes wide with wonder and fear. She moved her arm to open the door wider, just enough for her small frame to fit and as she stepped into another room she closed it behind her and released a huge amount of air._

_The room she was now in was more brightly lit. From the huge chandelier which was adorned with crystals of various shapes and sizes, hanging on the ceiling, the lamps on the deep crimson walls similar to those she has seen in the dining room, and the lit fireplace to her right, it was homey and welcoming, for a moment she forgot that she was snooping around._

_And then she heard it._

_A grunt, an oomph, a stifled moan as if someone was in pain but did not want anyone to find out. She swept her eyes across the room to find the source of the noise, she walked silently, thankful for the carpeted floors that muffled her steps. _

_There was a door next to a bookshelf that was left slightly ajar. She neared the shelf, careful not to startle anyone who might see her from the other side. She poked her head just a little bit for her eyes to see who or what was in that room. And she was the one who was taken aback by the sight. _

_She remembered blue eyes staring back at her. A boy was kneeling in front of a man. His nose was bleeding and so did his lips. He had a bruise forming on his left cheek, his white shirt was stained with dirt, his hands fisted on his sides, his legs were trembling but he was keeping an effort to keep himself straight, or else the man in front of him would reward him with another whiplash._

_She wanted to know why he was being beaten, and so badly, the man was screaming at him but everything that came out of his mouth became a huge blurb to Caroline because all that her senses can register were the boy's little sounds of pain that he was trying desperately to keep from escaping his lips, and his eyes, his eyes that never left her own. It was saying a thousand things at the same time but all she could do was grip the shelf in her hands so tightly she could feel the edges digging into her skin._

_Whip by whip, she could feel her ears ringing from each of it as the boy endured and kept his lips shut in a thin line, the wound there bleeding red and thick over his chin. Caroline remained unmoving, her legs seemed frozen and numb, her eyes boring into the boy's blue ones as if telling him something, anything, she didn't know what. _

_And then a hand came over her mouth and the terror that gripped her washed over her like a bucket of ice, she tried to scream, she thrashed her arms and legs against her captor but it kept a vise grip on her and she was dragged away from the door. Dragged away from the boy._

X

X

X

The stupid alarm blared against her ears. She was exhausted. She slept the recommended eight hours of sleep and she was exhausted. Groggily, she opened one eye after the other and stretched her tired limbs leisurely. Her legs felt as if she ran a marathon instead of resting on her bed.

With a sigh Caroline sat up and reached for her alarm clock and turned off the offending item and almost threw it back on her bedside table. She ran her hands through her messy curls and bent her head from side to side. Today was another long day for her. It always was.

Ever since her father named her in charge of the charity foundations that belonged to their company, she has split her time for college and for foundation related events and projects. It was no easy feat, not even for Caroline who prided herself as a prime organizer and planner.

But Caroline always had a humongous reserve for optimism and it served her enough for when she needs a boost. So she gets herself up with a renewed spirit and she trotted across her room to get ready for the day. A hot shower with her favorite scented body gel and aromatic shampoo will do her some good to be completely prepped for a long day ahead of her.

Dressed in her brand new dress in a pretty pink salmon shade, she made her way downstairs while smiling and greeting their staff with a bright 'Good Morning!'

About thirteen years ago, Caroline and her parents left Mystic Falls and started a new life in a flourishing city located in the coasts of California. Deeplake City used to be a wide county full of industrial factories and thriving and emerging businesses. As time passed, more and more investors came to the area, people migrated and built their residences there, establishments like malls, hotels, resorts, and entrepreneurs in small scale businesses made it so progressive that it advanced to becoming a city in just a few decades.

One of those businesses that was built and grew in the booming city was the Forbes Prime Cargo International. It started with William Forbes being a simple, small town messenger, until he was employed in a courier services company, and eventually by some streak of luck, a good friend of his helped him establish his own business which started from making deliveries across the county then it expanded state wide until more investors and partners helped it to gain international clients.

Caroline loved her father so much, she's his little princess, his Care Bear, how could she not? And her dear mother, Elizabeth Forbes, who those closest to her call her Liz, couldn't just let go of her duty as protector of the law, went from being a Sheriff for Mystic Falls to being the head of the Crime and Investigation Unit of the Deeplake City Police Department. Caroline loved her all the same.

She emerged in their home's breakfast patio with a wide smile and went straight to her Daddy who was reading the morning paper with a cup of his usual coffee. He returned an equally amused grin as he sees his daughter practically bouncing towards him and it widened as she bent down to kiss his cheek with a tinkling 'Good morning, Daddy!'

Caroline rounded the table and gave her Mom the same enthusiastic greeting which made the matriarch beam in response. "Morning, honey." She sipped from her coffee cup before placing it back on the porcelain saucer and watched Caroline as she sat down and piled her plate with breakfast. "It looks like your charity event today's going to gain a lot of guests."

"I know" she nodded while she sprinkled sugar over her waffles, "more guests mean more donations. The center will definitely benefit from it, I was thinking it'll go to their medical expenses, since last month the grants went to the physical repairs of the center." She proceeded to munch on her food but when she flicked her eyes towards her dad, she immediately dropped her fork on her plate and sighed.

"I know that look." Caroline shook her head and stared at her parents with narrowed eyes. With her father's nonchalant shrug she continued, "That's the look you make when you're about to tell me something you're not sure I'm going to like."

Liz and Bill shared a glance that made Caroline more curious, and a curious Caroline is never good. Especially when you leave her hanging in suspense.

Bill carefully folded the paper he was reading and placed it in front of him, a serious expression was on his face and this is the time Caroline knew he was schooling his features when he wants to be in his business mode. This usually means negotiating with him was far from possible.

"Remember when you were just a little girl and I asked you to make deliveries for me?" her father asked, as if he wasn't trying to tell her something very important.

"Yes…" she replied unsure where he's taking the conversation.

Bill folded his hands in front of him, looking intermittently between Caroline and her mother. "You see, one of the clients I used to work for back in Mystic Falls will be arriving in the country in a few days. I hope you remember the Mikaelsons?"

Of course. How could she forget. She remembers the wide driveway, the stone staircase, the wide double doors, she could vaguely remember the kitchen, the cakes, _Mrs. S_. And somewhere in her memory she remembers deep crimson walls, a lit fireplace, a book shelf, a door, and a pair of blue eyes. She unconsciously rubbed her palm across her other arm as goose bumps started to form.

"Caroline?" Liz called out to her and she gave a slightly startled jump from her seat as she came back from her hazy dream. "You do remember them right?"

She shook her head to rid it of intrusive thoughts as she tried to keep her attention on her parents, "I was five. But yes, I think so. I mean, I have a fuzzy recollection of their family, but they left a year after I started making deliveries to their house and they were quite a huge family. I don't think I've had more than a few encounters with the kids."

Her mom let out a small chuckle as she played with the food on her plate, Caroline watched this with intrigue, her mom was nervous and Liz rarely gets nervous. "They're not exactly kids anymore, some of them are successful businessmen now. Isn't that right, Bill?"

Bill nodded with a small, almost hesitant smile, "Yes, they left for London that time. Just like us, they started rebuilding their life outside Mystic Falls and they're currently big in the real estate industry. Which brings me back to an urgent matter. They're expanding here in the US and as you know our city offers real time opportunities for businesses to grow, so what better place to start than here?"

Caroline let the information sink in, still oblivious to what really her parents are trying to tell her. "So…they're coming, to Deeplake City." She nodded to herself with her eyebrows furrowed together, "I don't understand, are you trying to tell me that I'm in charge of the preparations for their welcome party or something?"

"Caroline," Bill breathed in deeply and looked her in the eye, "We're trying to tell you that when they come, they're going to stay here. For an indefinite amount of time."

She raised her eyebrows at them, "Stay here? You mean they're going to be in the city, indefinitely."

Her father shook his head and in a stern tone said, "No. They're going to stay _here_. And I mean here at home." Caroline opened her mouth, ready to shoot him with a tirade of protests but one firm look from him made her put her lips in a tight line but her eyes were still glaring at him. "Don't look at me like that. We're going to be gracious hosts and provide them the necessities they will need while they are here. It's only temporary and I trust that you'd be a darling and make their stay here as warm as possible."

Caroline planted her fists on her lap, keeping herself from unleashing a tantrum on her parents, she took a deep breath with her eyes closed before training her eyes on them, "Why here? I thought they're huge business tycoons now, why do they need to move in and invade our home? I'm sure they can afford even the most affluent hotel for months and never go bankrupt." Her tone rose to a volume that was disagreeable to both her parents and Liz reprimanded her with a firm glare.

Silence reigned for a few moments, giving everyone a small amount of space to compose themselves before Bill changed his tone to a more fatherly way, appealing for his daughter to understand, "Mikael and I go way back. He's a very good friend to me and has helped me through a few rough patches in my life. Letting his family stay here is a little way to pay him back. A little sacrifice on my part, considering how much he has lent a hand to me when I needed it the most. I hope you'd allow me this privilege, Caroline, by helping me make sure they're taken cared of while they're here."

Unwarranted thoughts invaded her mind again, flashes of deep orange sunrays into a cold dining room, the chandelier that hung above her, making a certain memory brighter, a bookshelf, a slightly opened door, blue eyes, stifled grunts of pain, a man yelling, a hand over her mouth, and she felt like she was being dragged again, wailing against a hand clamped over her face.

"Caroline?" her mother's soothing voice woke her up from her horrifying reverie. She knew there and then that, the Mikaelsons coming to their home could not be a good thing. She never told her parents what she saw that day. Her mother never knew why she kept herself in her room for weeks and refused her father to make deliveries for him.

But just like fifteen years ago, she didn't allow her fears to consume her, she was able to get past that and bounced back to doing tasks for her dad again. If she was going to let them inside her home, _into her life_, she's going to have to prepare, steel herself, clad her spirits in iron, she's not a little girl anymore and she's not going to allow anyone to make her feel helpless and powerless ever again.

"I'll make sure the west wing is in pristine condition." A determined expression was on her face and her parents exhaled in relief. "But I have to go, the guests in the charity gala won't be too happy with me if I'm late." With that she stood and left her parents who shared another troubled look between them and watched their daughter walk out. They hoped her strength never wanes for all that is coming to them.

X

X

X

The event was a success. More pledges poured for the Forbes charity foundation and every time someone approaches Caroline, either to congratulate her or offer their praises for her accomplishments, she would give them her patented smile intended for the public. She was able to keep her composure during the whole time, masking her apprehensions with a calm and calculated attitude.

Sometimes it astounds her how much effort she puts on looking as immaculate as she was expected to be. Fancy clothes, an expertise on applying makeup, keeping her golden locks in its glory, a practiced and deliberate public rapport that could capture someone's attention, makes Caroline Forbes one of the most influential women of her age in the city.

But people, human as we are, have breaking points. But that day was not the day for her to finally reach it. She worked so hard to be where she is right now. Her parents worked so hard to be where they are right now. And a family from her past, a past that has marred her memory, won't be the catalyst to bring her failure. Not when she can prevent it.

A light drizzle was rendering the windows of her sleek, black Lexus a bit blurry. She had her face propped on the palm of her hand as she watched the fuzzy figures of people flitting in and out of the shops that rimmed one of the busy blocks in the heart of Deeplake City.

"Wait." She started abruptly, "Joe, can you please pull over?" she asked her driver from where she sat in the backseat.

The driver swerved the car gently to the side and looked at Caroline from the rear view mirror. "_Petites Douceurs_ again, Miss Caroline?" he gave her a warm smile that she returned just as much.

"You know they're my favorite, they serve everything I love." She gathered her purse and opened the door to step out into the street. "I'll be a while."

"No problems, Miss. I'll be right here."

Caroline gave him one more grateful smile before strolling towards the quaint café that she had been frequenting ever since they opened four years ago.

As soon as she opened the glass door, the charms above her head tinkled, a few customers were enjoying a cup of coffee paired with a house specialty of either a bagel or a slice of rich chocolate cake, the brick walls were painted with white, little chandeliers made of colored glass hung on the ceiling, a variety of bottles with an assortment of colors, shapes and sizes were placed artistically on the shelves that were bolted to the walls along with silver and glass gilded mirrors, giving the entire interior a rustic but chic atmosphere.

Excitedly, she approached the array of freshly made delicacies displayed inside the shop. She let her eyes roam over the selection of cupcakes, macarons, cheesecakes, cookies, tarts, different types of bread, and on the side, a freezer containing assorted flavors of gelato made her stomach rumble.

"Hello Danny!" she beamed to the barista that usually serves her. "One white choco..."

"-late and raspberry milk tea. Tall." He chuckled after completing her order. "Coming right up!" he turned around to prepare her drink and Caroline gave him a grin.

With him busy preparing her order, she bent to look at their food selections again, wondering whether to get macarons or to try their chocolate chip and oat cookies instead.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone stand beside her, his hands were placed inside the pockets of his leather jacket. Caroline straightened up and in that moment forgetting her manners, she stared at the guy who donned a pair of sunglasses. She knew him from somewhere but couldn't quite put her finger on it. His characteristic blonde hair that was perpetually gelled in place, his chiseled jaw…

"Stefan?" she muttered quietly.

The guy in question turned towards her with a stoic expression that slowly morphed into a pleasant one, his lips turning upwards as he took in the girl beside him. Before Caroline could ask further, she was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug, the man's arms wounding around her and heaving her slightly off the ground.

"Caroline!" Stefan loosened his hold on her and removed his glasses, revealing green, friendly eyes. "Look at you, looking all so grown up."

She punched him teasingly on the shoulder and he feigned a hurt face to which she giggled. "Look at you all handsome and mysterious. Seriously, you've been gone for what, four years? And then you show up looking like you don't want anybody to know. Afraid Elena will come for you with a pitchfork?" Caroline narrowed her eyes on him mirthfully and Stefan shook his head with a broad smile on his face.

"I haven't thought of Elena in years."

She brought her hand to her chest and mustered the most painful face she can pull off, "Ouch. Way to go, heartbreaker." Just then, Danny came up to them and offered Caroline her drink which she received delightfully and she gave him the amount she owed. "And a cappuccino for the stranger here, please."

With her drink in one hand, Caroline dragged her friend with the other to a table near the window, overlooking the semi crowded street, a few street lamps already lit as the sky turned a darker shade of blue. "So..." she started a bit hesitantly as she placed her tea in front of her. "Where have you been? I tried contacting you but it all went to voicemail. I even went as far as calling your brother, which let me tell you was no fun. At all." There was a small, cheerless smile on Stefan's face and it was similarly present on Caroline's.

"You never called back. Elena was so devastated, she thought you hated her so much that you'd really pack up and leave without telling a soul where you're off to. Not that I care much about Elena since we were never really great friends because us being mere acquaintances was because of you and… you're my friend Stefan, still are, and I was so worried about you. But I didn't know where to start looking for you…" she rambled on and Stefan dropped his head in shame and sadness so he cleared his throat to catch her attention and took the opportunity to speak as she paused mid rant.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled in a small voice. Caroline opened her mouth to speak but one determined look from him made her seal her lips in a line and she nodded for him to continue. He folded his hands in front of him and let his eyes wander to the people, shops and cars outside the little café before returning his gaze on her, his heart clenched at the disappointment in her eyes, others may not have seen it but Stefan knew Caroline well, she could not conceal her feelings from one of her closest friends.

"I was miserable, and young, and reckless." She opened her mouth again but he gestured with his hand to let him speak so she just suppressed a grin and allowed him to do so. "And I was so in love. That might've sounded a lot cheesier than I intended it to but it doesn't make it any less true. You know how much I loved her, Care, and I was so devastated when she left me for my brother. So I took the easy way out and wasted nights, weeks and months drunk in the streets of Milan, then Paris, until before I knew it, I was in Amsterdam."

Caroline's eyes widened in astonishment, "You went trekking through Europe, wasted and alone, you could have called me!" She shook her head and was about to add more reprimand when Danny came to serve a steaming cup of fresh coffee in front of Stefan. "Thanks." Was her short, curt reply to him before she turned her attention back to her friend. "Stefan…"

He traced his finger on the cup's handle, his eyes following its movement, as if in some memory tucked away that Caroline couldn't reach. "I know." He said after a while, "I told you I was miserable, I didn't know what to do with my life, it felt like the biggest betrayal done to me by anyone and I tried to find ways to numb it."

She took his free hand in between both of hers, "I could've been there for you. You know that, right?" Stefan returned the gesture with a gentle squeeze but freed his hand from her grasp, looking uncomfortable about rehashing long buried memories.

"Anyway, I did find some sort of reprieve, I met people who picked me up from the void I was falling into." A nostalgic beam was on his face as he recalled the lighter parts of his disappearance. "They taught me to soldier up and face the world again."

"Were they from a convent, a congregation, missionaries maybe?" she teased him but she was really glad that Stefan was able to put himself back together and silently thanked these people who found him. Whoever they may be.

He laughed lightly with her and took the cup of warm cappuccino, brought it to his lips, took a few sips before placing it back on the dainty china. "No, they are anything but the one's you've just mentioned. Not the kind you meet every day but nevertheless they were kind to me, still are."

Caroline sipped from her tall cup too and jokingly narrowed her eyes on him, "I'm half expecting you to say next that they're the ones who made you the man that you are now."

Stefan chuckled and she laughed with him too, for a while it felt like high school all over again. "Well, if you put it like that, in a way, yes."

They spent a few more minutes reminiscing on what Stefan has missed in the city he left years ago and him supplying Caroline with all the adventures he experienced during his time in Europe. It was warm, familiar, something she missed so much and hoped they could have for a longer time than her friend intended.

"Not to put a damper on this little reunion but, I have to ask…" on her statement Stefan raised his eyebrows at her as if saying 'of course you do' to which Caroline just rolled her eyes and went on, "How long are you going to be here? Are you just passing by, came to visit someone, or are you here dragged against your will, waiting for the opportune moment to escape?"

He grinned at her amusedly, he admittedly missed this Caroline, "If you're thinking that I hate bumping into you today, you could never be more wrong." He playfully pinched her cheek and she swatted his hand away. "I'll be here indefinitely. I have some business here."

Indefinitely. There was that word again, she felt like she was transported to the eventful breakfast she had with her parents earlier, what seemed so distant just a while ago seemed more real yet again. "Good. That means I'll be seeing more of you." She forced a smile on her face. "Business, huh? What are you into?"

At her question, Stefan immediately stilled imperceptibly before he composed himself, "Nah, I don't think my business will interest you. What are you taking up in college anyway?"

"I'm a drama major but I'm taking up a few business courses and you're changing the subject." She retorted adding a sing song tone to her voice at the end of her statement. Stefan tried to form a reply but he was saved from answering when Caroline's phone chimed. She took it out of her purse and read the messages that were now piled in her inbox, "Ugh, nine from my Mom, four from my Dad, and one from Joe."

She picked up her purse and stood from her chair while Stefan did the same, "I'm really sorry but I have to go, there's this really important…thing, that my Dad wants me to do."

He waved a reassuring hand with a nod and a smile, "Please, I know exactly how your dad gets, besides I believe I'm running late myself." He checked his watch with a frown.

"Right, that business you think won't interest me." She grabbed his arm and pulled him in for a hug. "I'm really glad you're here, Stef. It's really good to see you again."

He reciprocated the embrace and kissed the top of her head before they parted, "It's really good to see you too, Care. It's been too long."

"Come by my house if you have time, won't you?" She requested with pleading eyes but at his silence she added with a pout, "Please?"

He grinned broadly before taking her hand and walked her to her car, "I will. I promise." He opened the door for her and Caroline stepped in, with a genuine, happy look on her face. "Hey Joe." He nodded towards her driver.

"Mr. Salvatore." He returned with a slight salute.

Stefan gave Caroline one more farewell wave before closing the passenger door.

As soon as the car started moving, Caroline felt a tumultuous amount of emotions playing in her chest. Unexpected glee from her friend's return and a restless, anxious sensation she couldn't quite contain. But nevertheless, she was never made to cower, she wasn't frail, she's not as delicate or fragile as people ought her to be. A handful of people to welcome into her home won't really tip her balance, right?

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello everyone and welcome to my new story, to my former readers, glad to have you guys back and to the new readers, thank you for giving this a chance. Drop me a review if you wish! Until the next chapter!**

**P.S.: the title was inspired by a playlist I bumped into in 8tracks, if you love epic movie scores and music to fill your soul with an all consuming emotion, just search for the playlist with the same title. It has inspired me so much while writing this. Have fun!**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

"There is no easy way from the earth to the stars"  
>― Seneca<p>

The west wing included a long array of guest rooms, an entertainment area, a library, a wide open terrace at the end of the hall, a parlor where guests can reconvene after dinner for coffee or cigar, a conference room which Bill rarely used to meet his partners or potential investors, a few other rooms where guests can relax and enjoy the warmth of a fireplace and a bar supplied with a vast selection of liquor to go with the other amenities.

Caroline flitted in and out of these rooms, with a clipboard secured in her arm, assorted pens in her pocket, and a few members of their staff following her around, making sure they catch her instructions and securing they are done immediately and exactly in the way she wanted it to be done.

This was what occupied most of her time ever since her parents dropped it on her that they were going to have house guests, and not just any other visitors, mind you. Somehow, during the last five days since her father was able to sway her into cooperation, she has pushed every thought about the Mikaelsons that has lingered in her mind, into the deepest recesses of her brain and give them the benefit of the doubt. And to give her Dad his peace of mind.

The beds were made, fresh sets of linens were provided for each room that will be occupied, curtains adorned the windows, the panes washed, the floors polished to perfection, the closets ready to be filled, even the pool in the back garden was drained and scrubbed and properly replaced with clean water for when the family decides to take a dip. The gardeners were also buzzing around trimming the plants, securing every pebble and pot in its place. The kitchen was bustling, they had less than twenty four hours left before the most anticipated guests arrive.

"Chef Martin, I hope we're not experiencing any sort of delay?" Caroline approached a young man of great built, who would've fit better as a gym instructor than a chef, but came highly recommended by one of her father's associates and has proven his merit time and time again. "You know how important this is for us." She gave him an encouraging smile which he returned with a confident one.

"When did you ever doubt me, Miss Forbes?" he returned his attention to the pan he was stirring and Caroline left him to it.

At that moment, one of the ladies who assisted her came to her in a hurry, almost catching her breath. "Miss Caroline…someone… someone's looking for you, it might be one of our guests." The last part she added in a low voice.

Her mouth fell agape and she almost dropped her clipboard to the ground. Hastily, she went past her assistant but not without relieving her hands of her effects and passed them to the fretting girl. "They're not supposed to be here yet, I personally called the airlines earlier and they were perfectly clear when they said that their flight is going to arrive in…" she made a dramatic roll of her sleeve to see her wrist watch, "about twenty one hours and forty five minutes."

When she passed by a framed mirror in the hallway, she vexingly frowned at her appearance, she was only wearing a cotton sundress, a jean jacket, and a pair of flats, it was supposed to be her comfortable outfit when she knows she'll be busy frolicking around, not to greet important visitors. Especially not to meet the Mikaelsons.

She gave her cheeks a few pinches to give her pale face a tinge of blush, she licked her lips, rid the part below her eyes of stray eyeliner or mascara lines, and ran her fingers through her blonde curls. Thank god, she decided to at least do her hair this morning.

Caroline tried to adjust her dress and smooth it one more time before raising her hands dejectedly and went ahead towards their foyer to meet their _unexpected_ guests.

What she didn't imagine to find there, was her friend, still donning a leather jacket, although his sunglasses were already tucked in front of his shirt, waiting for her with a huge grin.

"You could've told me it was you who was coming." She practically leaped towards him and was about to engage him in another bone crushing hug when a girl who was about her age, with pin straight blonde hair, wearing a tight, short dress, and pumps to match, came bursting through the door and almost screeched when she started opening her mouth.

"I cannot believe the audacity of these people! That was Louis Vuitton, not just some scraggly luggage bought from cheap, wannabe boutiques. And I had most of my purses brought over from Milan and Paris in there! They could not possibly just send me a letter of apology…"

Stefan feigned a cough and cleared his throat and the girl rolled her eyes at him but her lips had a hint of a smile in them, although Caroline was fairly sure, she didn't notice she was there in the room too, at least not yet.

"I'm sure that with your… charming persuasion, they will be able to locate your luggage and you'll have your precious purses with you in no time." He actually sounded playful which Caroline find both amusing and intriguing because the friend she knew would never let anyone make his ears bleed like that. Elena certainly was a far cry from her.

The girl dangerously narrowed her eyes into slits and stepped closer towards him, "Are you mocking me?"

Caroline expected him to feel sorry or at least keep his mouth shut but Stefan surprised her by feigning a disappointed expression and placed his hand over his chest, "I do not intend to offend the lady, if that's what you're insinuating."

In return, the girl jovially shoved his shoulder and smirked, "Shut it, Salvatore."

Having enough of their seemingly escalating flirt, Caroline cleared her throat to catch their attention. Stefan looked down bashfully, trying to contain the grin that was obviously still on his face but the girl on the other hand had wiped off all the mirth from her expression and turned to her with what could Caroline could only describe as a feral glare.

"Do you work for the Forbes?" she asked in a demanding tone.

Caroline's eyebrow shot up, "Excuse me?" she muttered under her breath and she was about to give the girl a blow by blow of who she was but upon remembering her promise to her father, schooled her features into the most forthcoming expression she could manage, "My name's Caroline. Caroline Forbes." She extended her hand towards her, "And you are?"

"Rebekah Mikaelson." She watched Caroline's hand as if it was something to be examined instead of shaken, "Pleasure, I'm sure." She added but completely ignored the latter's outstretched hand.

Caroline chose to overlook her rudeness but instead dropped her hand and struggled not to keep it fisted at her side. She pasted a bright grin on her face then and addressed her friend. "I didn't know you two know each other, Stef, you certainly didn't mention her yesterday." She was aware of Rebekah's not so subtle scoff when she heard her call him Stef.

"Well, he certainly didn't say he was out meeting… people yesterday. I thought you said you were going to meet a potential partner." Rebekah said before he could even form a reply. Caroline was seriously convinced that this girl had a way of saying words in a calm but dangerous manner.

Caroline nodded her head and tapped a finger on her chin, "Yes, you did mention you were late for a… business meeting, was it?" She faked a concerned look which Stefan knew all too well, she was in bitch mode which the newcomer probably stirred in her.

Rebekah turned her glare towards him in a way that tells they were certainly going to talk about it later. "I'm tired. I need to get settled." She swayed towards her bags and gestured to them, "Do you have anyone you can ask to help me with these, they're quite heavy."

Caroline called for their male staff to help Rebekah with her baggage and to lead her to their wing where her family is going to stay for as long as they were in the city.

She glowered at Stefan as soon as she was out of sight and he knew she needed a bit of explanation, or a lot. What happened was beyond what Caroline could comprehend, one of her dreaded guests and one of her closest friend in the entire world just openly flirted in front of her and she knew that Rebekah and her won't exactly be seeing eye to eye. Not even when they are going to live under the same roof.

Stefan shook his head in a way that tells her to just drop it for now, "It's a long story."

She was too annoyed and baffled to even coax him into spilling his guts, "Maybe in a week, when I'm not stressing out too much anymore." With that she left him standing there dejectedly to find something she can pour her vexations into.

X

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Caroline was a pro in social gatherings. It was part and parcel of her duty as the daughter of one of the most prominent businessmen in the city. She would gladly consider it her forte to engage anyone of any rank, stature, or employment into an enrapturing conversation. But not tonight.

Tonight, she barely even touched her food, and no offense to her chef but she'd rather order in and keep to herself in her bedroom right now than to stay another minute with these people. She was having an internal riot and she was afraid she'd sooner throw up rather than utter another word.

The Mikaelsons were not the kind of people you'll happily invite for Thanksgiving or Christmas parties. Yes, without question they eluded class, elegance, grace and posture. They were an image of a family with a certain upbringing that belonged to those of royal blood. Even Rebekah who was showing Caroline glimpses of her fierce attitude yesterday, was entirely poised and charming which Bill and Liz appreciated greatly.

The rest of her family arrived altogether, exactly at the scheduled time. The Forbes greeted them with the utmost loveliness and warmth, even though for Caroline it felt like she was being grilled over burning charcoal. In return, they gave their hosts the praises and gratefulness expected of guests. Questions were fired about their travel, their home in London, how it felt to be back in America after such a long time, to which they answered to politely, but most of the responses were supplied by their patriarch, Mikael.

The moment he stepped into their home and started talking, Caroline almost folded into herself and wished she never draw too much attention to herself, but of course it was impossible. This wasn't some social gathering where she could get lost in the crowd and just engage in a few random conversations, where she can make up excuses to end the mindless chit chat. She can't just make up an alibi and give her apologies because she can't join their family for dinner.

She was already roped into it and if she had to play, she had to play wisely. So with humble politeness and charisma, she put on her most winning smile and asserted herself as a most pleasing host. Never mind if Mikael's voice makes her sweat, cold on her back. She had to push the reminder of lifetimes ago into the remotest pits of her brain.

He was as she remembered him to be, one little cautious glance towards him was enough for Caroline, for his face to be embedded into her memory. He was still all authoritativeness, infallible confidence, and you'll just know that beneath the layer of calm there was a brewing madness in him that she will not dare stir. She avoided addressing him directly as much as she can, instead inquired about Esther, his wife.

Caroline asked her about their stately home in England which she has heard so much about from her parents, which isn't really entirely true. Esther was every bit eager to tell everyone about their properties and the extent of their wealth. She talked delightedly about the famous people who they had the honor of providing properties to and that their business has allowed them to engage in deals that spanned not only Great Britain but also as far as France, Italy, Greece and even a few from the Scandinavian countries.

All of these she tried to absorb with the absolute interest she could muster. That made the introductions a sort of a warm up. The dinner however was an entirely different story.

The dining table afforded her a front row view of everyone although she was careful not to let her eyes linger on one particular person if she _really_ doesn't want to place much unnecessary attention to herself than she already do.

One thing she could positively admit though, they were all beautiful people. Yes, Rebekah hasn't been really very cordial to her the day before but neither did she say that it reflected poorly on her physicality. She had a way of holding herself high as if she knew she'll always have her way, she was after all the only daughter among the brood of testosterone fueled lot.

There was the eldest among them, with a face as stern but more inscrutable than his father. When he spoke he did so formally as if he was addressing the president or a member of the royal family rather than the Forbes. He fixed his suit more so than anyone else among them and he had a decorum that looked finer than his only sister.

Beside Rebekah sat another brown eyed son with features that looked a lot like their eldest brother, but his was of a sly, cheeky nature. He smiled so broadly whenever he senses an opportunity to tease his siblings especially Rebekah and he seemed indifferent to his father's remarks about his table manners. Caroline decided she had to avoid him the most, there's no reason she had to get herself entangled with him or his schemes.

Henrik, who sat beside his mother was a boy of twelve and was the family's baby. His youthful aura and the blithe quality of his expressions balanced the rigidness of the rest of them. He only talked a little about his home and how he was so excited to see the country for he had never been there before and his parents rarely allowed him to go with them when they are to have business trips abroad. Caroline believed he would be a relief to have in their home if she has to tolerate the rest of them.

She managed to remain cordial and welcoming throughout the introductions and at the beginning of dinner but she sooner tuned out the voices of her parents and the older Mikaelsons and flicked her eyes then and again on the face of the person she was so stunned to see. She would never forget those eyes, she'll probably forget the combination of her locker sooner than she could consign his eyes to oblivion. They used to haunt her for weeks, it was the pair of orbs that made her decide to keep her mother's admonitions in mind.

From time to time, her brain would play games with her and conjure up into the forefront of her psyche the way those eyes went from hurting, to pleading, to subdued rage, to helpless surrender, and finally to indifference in a number of seconds. But none of those things were present when she first (not exactly) saw him as he stepped foot in her home. He was courteous to her parents and said words of gratefulness to them although he kept them at a minimum and in a manner that was more businesslike than purely heartfelt. He gave her a stiff nod to acknowledge her presence and then nothing more.

When he spoke, he only addressed her parents but he gave really straightforward answers that almost didn't give room for further questions. He didn't even feign interest about matters of various booming industries and people climbing on the social ladder as most people in the room did. He was only engaged with his siblings, mostly Kol or Henrik who were seated on either side of him, but these too were small, random conversations that she could not partake in.

Klaus, or Nik, as some of his siblings called him, was so reserved both in words and expression. He didn't look like as if he shared his family's enthusiasm in seeing the country once again. He didn't sulk in his chair but neither did he give anyone grave looks that would make Caroline consider him as being dragged there forcibly. He sat straight as regal as everyone else, he ate carefully, he was stingy about giving away his attention, everything about him conveyed a stolid air, indifferent and distant.

"It's a good thing your daughter here seems to have taken up your amour to charm the public." Mikael said from one end of the table, breaking her from her thoughts, "I heard about the foundation, I used to have associates who donated for your cause, Caroline."

She seemed too flustered to speak for a while but gathered her wits hurriedly so as not to appear dim-witted in front of them. She shook her head with a small laugh before responding, "I wouldn't really call it _my_ cause, because everything from the organization, the maintenance, and the gathering of funds are all contributed by everyone who works with us."

Mikael gave her a close lipped smile that she had to return reluctantly before he faced her father again, "She's too modest."

"I hear you were taking up drama in college?" his wife piped up from his right hand side, she sipped on her third glass of red which makes Caroline wonder how come she was still able to sit still and not slur since she had already been nursing a flask ever since she arrived and had been not so subtly taking a few gulps from it all throughout introductions and even until they were all seated for dinner. "Haven't you had any intentions of running the family business in the future?"

Caroline had to bite her lip before replying, Esther's tone was so disagreeable to her and made it sound like she didn't care for the business that her father built himself and that she was wasting her time on something that might not even be fruitful for her. "Yes I do," she said boldly while she straightened her back, "The college where I go to offers one of the best programs in the country, I have been under the care of notable producers, directors and actors who have spanned the globe and had created successful productions over the years." She was so glad her voice didn't wane from the confidence she wished to prove.

It might have been a trick or a work of her imagination but she seemed to see from the corner of her eye, the unexpressive face of Klaus change infinitesimally as he cocked one of his eyebrows before he morphed it into his stoic expression again. With this she added, "But I'm also taking up a few business classes, I'm just as invested to our company as my parents are.

This seemed to have earned her a small impressed smile from Esther but the conversation about the stock market, economy, and politics recommenced and Caroline waited for their last course to be done so she could plop herself on her bed, snuggle her favorite pillow and just fall into an oblivious sleep, away from formal dinner conversations, etiquette, and inquisitive guests.

X

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Caroline paced her room slowly as she took in the earlier events that transpired in her home. The house was already quiet, no more maids bustling to and fro, no more last minute details to furnish, the dinner ended in a pleasant note, everyone was exhausted and their guests were adjusting quite fairly so they retreated to their rooms to rest.

But after the warm bath that she took to soothe her nerves, she didn't at all feel the weight off her shoulders, if anything it only felt heavier and she felt as if she was walking leashed to balls and chains, dragging it heavily towards understanding the peculiarity of their visitor's arrival. Without them constantly inquiring about her or having them entertained in the dining room, she was able to look at the entire scenario like an outsider.

The Mikaelson's were people she haven't seen for a stretch of time, as far as she's concerned her parents ceased any form of communication with them since they left for England, for a family with an astounding amount of wealth she has never seen a single article of them plastered in magazines, newspapers or websites. Not once have they been mentioned in corporate affairs nor have they been invited by anyone with the capacity to gather certain types of people into one place to mingle with them or possibly to close deals.

Maybe they were just closed off from the rest of the world and wanted to keep their reputation from spreading to the public and within circles of elite. But their manner of exuding class, proper decorum, and amicability earlier begs to say otherwise. They were definitely used to being under the spotlight, their being highly sociable and good natured when it came to establishing rapport was so refined as if they had been doing it for a long while.

They only thing she found out about them over the web is the official site for their real estate business. It featured photos of their buyers and the different locations where they were able to meet clients and secured properties for them. There was a video that showed a commercial advertisement for their company which includes testaments from customers who were deeply grateful for their services and were highly satisfied that they came to them for their needs.

Caroline spent a considerable amount of time scrolling through the site, hoping to find links or anything that would lead her to any news or postings about them but she came up with nothing. Frustrated, she sat on the edge of her bed and threaded her fingers through her hair with a heavy sigh. If she didn't keep herself from thinking too much about the people who now resides a few halls away from her, she will become undeniably obsessed with finding out what it is that they are hiding. She certainly needed something to eat.

X

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Her soft footsteps were muffled by the carpeted hallways that lead to their kitchen, a few wall lamps were dimly lit on either side, a slight chill could be felt from the draught that slipped through the windows, it was silent except for the occasional gust of wind and the edges of the curtains, fluttering like a whisper.

She caught her reflection on one of the gilded mirrors on her right and she watched her face cheerlessly, her curls were tousled, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, dark circles beginning to appear beneath them, her cheeks pallid, her lips dry, and she was wearing the most mismatched sleep wear she has ever worn in her life. Caroline frowned at herself and with a pout and drooped shoulders turned away from her reflection and proceeded to the kitchen.

The room housed all sorts of high quality culinary equipments and their pantry was always filled with more than enough supplies to last the family for months. Caroline took a few baking classes way back in high school, she would peruse the oven from time to time and make her favorite chocolate chip cookies or a huge moist chocolate cake with a rich, vanilla icing and topped with berries. Her mother loved tarts too, so she would make batches of them with different fillings.

Tonight though, a simple sandwich would suffice, she was pretty sure there is some cooked ham, sliced cheese, chicken, and a bit of dressing in their fridge. She made a dramatic way of opening the double doors and the light from inside illuminated her, she was about to reach for the pack of cheese when a voice suddenly made her squeak, her eyes going wide and her hands flying to her chest.

"Hungry?" Klaus said lowly, he was seated on one of the high chairs near the counter behind her, he had his back on her, his eyes casted away, and a mug was enclosed in both of his hands. He was still wearing the same clothes he had earlier, a grey Henley and dark jeans. He swirled his drink with one hand before taking a small sip from it, the silence from Caroline made him turn his head and he eyes her with blasé regard before looking away again.

"I was… I was…" she stammered and she could've had hit her forehead mentally for being so _eloquent_ at the moment. "I was just getting something to eat." She said more convincingly, "I have cravings at night which are really inconvenient sometimes. I was wondering if I could make a sandwich before I go to bed." She rambled on, somehow his presence there made her a little nervous and shook her balance which she finds really unnerving. "Would you like some?" she asked in a small, unsure voice.

He remained unmoving from his perch, seconds passed as Caroline also remained still, standing before the opened fridge, her hands full of ingredients, observing him like he was a disturbing riddle. He didn't made any kind of response nor did he make any signs that he heard her so she pursed her lips together, made sure she had everything she needed and kicked the door close.

The room was once again drenched in darkness but Caroline could figure where everything was located and from the minimal streaks of light pouring in from the windows, she could make out Klaus's silhouetted form, still hunched over his mug. When she had placed the ingredients on the counter she carefully padded towards the switch to turn on the overhead light, giving the room a dim glow. Now at least she could have a proper look, not that she meant to ogle. Nope.

"You should have turned the light on, you could've killed someone with a heart attack." She chuckled nervously as she picked a slice of bread and placed a ham on it neatly. She sneaked glances towards him as she busied herself with the task. She saw his hand imperceptibly tighten on his drink, his jaw line fairly visible, and his lips kept in a tight line as he looked down as if he was cursing the wooden panel of the counter top. But just like every time he would show a small glimpse of expression, he would morph it back to nonchalance.

Caroline bit her lower lip and pretended that she didn't see this change. They spent a few more minutes in silence, the clatter of knife and plate was the only sounds that permeated the uncomfortable quiet. Caroline never let her prying eyes turn towards him again, occupying herself with the sandwich she meticulously prepared, more meticulous than usual. And no, she wasn't buying her time in case he starts to speak.

She took her time replacing the rest of the unused ingredients back to the fridge, casually strolling around as if no one sat there, motionless. She picked up her plate and was about to bid him goodnight when finally he spoke without taking his eyes off the mug.

"Be careful." His tone was grim and slightly detached, as if he was reluctant to say anything at all.

Caroline clutched her plate before her and considers him disbelievingly for a moment, "Excuse me, but what is that supposed to mean?" she asked with indignance, heat rising to her cheeks.

He rose from the chair and finished his drink before holding her gaze until he was frozen on the spot. "What I mean _sweetheart_, is that you keep your nosy tendencies to yourself. No more snooping around in places you're not supposed to be, no peeking into things you're not supposed to touch." He turned to place his empty mug on the sink before facing her again, an inscrutable look on his face. "We both know your talent for wandering about."

"You remember…" She shook her head, confusion etched on her face. She placed her plate on the counter with a small clank before she composed herself and missed the small flinch Klaus made when he made the mistake of rehashing a memory they both didn't want to recall.

Caroline crossed her arms before her and faced him with a daunting look, "You're forgetting _you_ came into our home. This is my home, I intend to keep it safe and comfortable as much as I can. My parents are already extending their generosity by letting everyone in your family stay here, for an indefinite amount of time, I might add, especially after a radio silence of more than a decade, now that sounds a bit…" she wasn't able to finish her rant as Klaus moved closer to her, his tall frame hovering over her small one.

"Careful." He warned again, the word escaping through his teeth like a hiss. They stared at each other for quite a while, both unblinking, but one was tense and scowling, the other fixed with reckless confidence. At length, Klaus stepped away from her and moved towards the door but before he could cross the threshold, he paused and turned his head slightly to the side without looking at her, "Don't tell me I didn't warn you." He was back to his cold, apathetic manner again which only added to her confusion.

She looked at the food she prepared sullenly, her stomach was growling and her mind was muddled with everything that took place in her home for the last forty eight hours. The following months are going to drag. She hoped it wouldn't last for a year.

* * *

><p><strong>tbc<strong>

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and to those who added this story on their favorite/follow list. That means so much to me! Shipping Klaroline had always been really painful and exhausting but I'm really glad to see people not giving up on them even just through fanfiction and the fanon world. Ship on, lovelies! **

**See you on the next update! Or if you have tumblr: silenceofthequeen**

**THANK YOU!**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

"Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them."

-Marcus Aurelius

A slight overcast hung in the sky while a slow breeze cooled her cheeks as she leaned by her open window the next morning, she stared at the distance bleakly, her school bag already slung on her shoulder and a file folder clutched against her chest. She didn't get much sleep last night, especially after her encounter with Klaus. His family's abrupt presence in her home together with his warning just added to her jumbled mess of conjunctures that constantly riddled her brain.

She didn't appreciate him just coming up to her and telling her to watch her step, as if she was the one who invited them in, as if she wanted them to be there along with the consequences that will follow. He has never been more wrong.

The Mikaelsons were decidedly intimidating, when she's around them, she needs to be on her guard, always know what to say and how to respond to their queries, she must never let their judging eyes make her look frail and naïve, Caroline has met worse versions of them, those types that revel in the trembling form of their prey. She'll never allow herself to be one. She'll get to the bottom of all this.

"Knock,knock."

She spun on her heel to see her mother poking her head through her door with a hesitant grin,

"Mind if I steal a few minutes of your morning?"

Caroline shook her head with an amused smile, she strode to the door and opened it wider to let her mother in. "I don't mind, Mom. But I'm wondering why you're here before breakfast." She narrowed her eyes playfully, well aware that she's there for a certain agenda.

An apologetic look came to her mother's features that made her frown. "I can't join you today, Honey, I'm sorry."

"Is there an emergency at the station? I'm sure they can handle it for a few minutes and you can spare it for breakfast, right?" Caroline adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder as she anticipated her mother's agreement on the matter.

Liz waved her phone in the air, "The boys called two minutes ago, definitely an emergency that needs my immediate attention." At her daughter's protesting face, she brought her hand to cup it gently, "I'll be alright sweetheart, occupational hazard, remember. I'll make it up to you."

She smiled understandingly and nodded her head, "Well, if that's the case we both know you didn't come up here to tell me you can't join us downstairs, so… what is it?"

Her mother brought down her hand from Caroline's face and took her free hand, softly encasing it between both of hers. "I know that this is hard for you." Her daughter's mouth opened to intervene but Caroline shut it with a firm look from her. "I know that you have questions, questions I know you don't want to raise, especially to your father."

Caroline looked down, her mother knew her too well. "I want to support him, but I don't understand…" her mother cut her off, squeezing her hand soothingly.

"That's why I need you to trust us, okay?" with her daughter's silence, she pressed, "Mikael is an old friend, a friendship that your father values deeply. I need you to trust him that what he's doing is for our good, and the company."

She shook her head, appearing perplexed more so than before, "If I have nothing to worry about, if I have to trust Dad, then why are you telling me this? Why do you feel the need to assure me that everything's going to be okay if nothing's going on, that just nullifies this entire conversation. I know you mom, that look on your face right now, says I'll never get my answers from you and you know me, if I have to dig things myself then I'll…"

"I know what happened when you brought that package to him, about fifteen years ago." Liz's eyes darkened for a sliver of time before it turned wary, "I never asked you or told you about it because it would've resulted to ramifications between Mikael and Bill had he known about what you've seen. You know how your father goes, I can't make him think the two of us were keeping secrets from him and I thought…"

"That it'd be way better if I kept it all to myself." Tears brimmed in Caroline's eyes and she bent her head, prying her hand from her mother's grasp, she clutched her file with both arms instead, avoiding her mother's gaze. "I badly needed someone to talk to all those time, I wanted someone to tell me that what I saw wasn't as monstrous as I thought it was."

"Caroline…" Liz pleaded.

"How did you know?" she whispered, her eyes flicking over her mother's face searching for answers she could never seem to get from her.

Liz was almost hesitant but knew that, now that her daughter learned a glimpse of the truth, she at least deserves to know a bit more. "A few days after you refused to leave your room, you spoke so little, ate with a small appetite, and when you did go to school, you looked so terrified to get out of the car, I knew something was wrong. I went to your teachers and talked to some of your friends, Bonnie especially, but they couldn't tell me why you were acting the way you did. So I followed your track, going to places where you went before it all started and eventually I found myself talking to the Mikaelson keep."

"Mrs. S.?" Caroline's eyes widened, "She never failed to remind me never to snoop around while I was there. I didn't know she told you."

"Because she also told me to stay quiet about it for as long as possible, and to make sure that what happened there won't have any lasting effects on you. I worried about you constantly after I talked to her." Liz was looking away, the memory pained her and it was apparent on her face, the lines on her forehead creased and her lips quivered faintly.

Caroline blinked away the tears that threatened to fall, "So… that was what all the presents for, I've always wondered why I kept receiving things from you even during ordinary days, you wanted to keep me occupied, away from the searing memory of a…"

"Caroline…" her name came out as a broken sound from her mother's lips.

She nodded her head and eyed her mother, crestfallen and dejected, "It's fine. I've weathered through it on my own, I still went to their house a few more times after I got over it, remember?" she gave her mom a tight lipped smile and Liz couldn't get herself to return it. "I have to run, maybe I'll just grab a few bites downstairs. We'll have breakfast when you're free. You have to go too, I don't want you to miss your moment capturing criminals and saving the distressed."

She left her mother standing in her room, sullen, guilty, and defeated. The clouds casted grey shadows over her daughter's pale blue walls, drifting slowly as if in rhythm with her disheartened state.

X

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All she wanted to do was be quick, grab a fresh bag of bagels, especially made from their kitchen by the expert culinary people they've employed, fill her thermos with a steamy coffee with the right amount of sugar and cream that she loves, hop on her car and be on her way, leaving everything behind and just focus on her academic endeavors.

But nope, you know what they say, fate has a funny way of stirring things up. She found the kitchen crammed with every Mikaelson she could find.

Elijah, already dressed in a fine suit ensemble, sipped his tea delicately, his attention drawn to the front page of a newspaper. Beside him Rebekah was alternating between inspecting her nails and flipping through the pages of the latest issue of Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle also stacked on the table beside her tea. Kol was popping slices of bread in the toaster and their youngest brother who he seemed to be teasing at the moment, was avoiding his older brother's hand from ruffling his hair and was spreading jam on the toasts.

Caroline tried to avoid letting her eyes go to the person she was least pleased to see so early on, but she could still see from her peripheral vision that he was leaning against the counter, facing his bantering brothers unaffectedly, drinking from the same type of mug he used last night.

The image made her internally wince. She sauntered inside and with a bright beam greeted its occupants with an animated 'Good morning' as she made a bee line towards the part where their staff usually places her prepared bag of take away, her thermos was already filled right beside it too and she silently thanked the gods for giving them such competent employees.

"Good morning, Miss Forbes"

Caroline whirled hastily as Elijah greeted her.

"Forgive my siblings for being such nuances so early in the day. They're usually a lot proper than this." He adjusted the lapels of his jacket as he regarded his siblings.

Kol left his toast in the air in mid bite as he gave his older brother a feigned bemused look, "You're not talking about me dear brother, are you? I'm being a good lad and a respectful guest." With his last phrase he turned his attention to Caroline with a coy smile. "And I'm sure I can think of ways we can make this stay a bit more interesting."

"Kol!" Elijah reprimanded in a stern tone as he reminded him with his steely gaze about the presence of Henrik with them, but his grin just got wider as he finally took a bite off his bread.

"I know some interesting stuff." Henrik volunteered while he held two bottles of jam, deciding which one to pick next. The eldest of the group just shook his head in plain embarrassment.

Kol chuckled amusedly, apparently the coy grin is perpetually etched on his face, "See, Henrik here can give me a few tricks." He ruffled the boy's hair affectionately.

Rebekah shut her magazine close with a scoff, "Don't even think about it Kol, I'm sure you're not her type." She flashes her eyes wryly towards Caroline and she willed herself not to flinch. "What do you think, Nik?" she turns to Klaus with the same look on her face. The latter gave them no heed and went on scrolling through his phone, impervious to the back and forth. But Rebekah kept on grinning as if it was exactly what she expected of her brother.

"As I was saying," Elijah spoke again, preventing his siblings from letting it escalate to a full on banter, "I hope you don't find us being here in your home as an intrusion of your peace. That was never our intention." She kept quiet as he spoke and the rest of them did not attempt to intervene either, "I hope that our stay here would allow us to form a friendship, like our parents do."

Caroline wanted to roll her eyes and scoff at that because she unquestionably doubted that she could ever be friends with them let alone be civil acquaintances. But she was invited into a game, and she never dares to back down from a challenge. So with a practiced beam that she uses when addressing people she is forced to befriend, she nodded affirmatively, "Sure. But I'm afraid we have to cut this bonding short. I'm getting late."

"Of course." Elijah bowed his head a little with a considerate smile.

"God, I miss university." Kol mumbled through a toast filled mouth. "The girls, the parties…"

Their sister shook her head, blonde hair waving against her cheeks, she picked up her Vogue again and muttered under her breath, "Unbelievable."

With that, Caroline strolled out of the room with her head held high, a roguish smile on her face, this is what she was going to endure for the days to come, they were a team and she's a lone soldier, there is strength in numbers but more so in uncanny abilities and a daring spirit that she conveniently have. Time to put them into good use.

X

X

X

Caroline was grateful the park where she was supposed to meet Bonnie was scarcely peopled, she found her without difficulty and half ran, half walked towards her and immediately dropped on the grass beside her best friend.

"I had been calling you for ages, I left you messages, I tried to get through you from all your social media accounts, and you responded to none of them, where were you? And Miss Bennet not checking her phone and her tablet, and not having her handy WI-FI with her is just unimaginable. It must be the apocalypse."

"Woah, slow down, Care." Her friend lifted her brown eyes from her tablet, "Take a deep breath, okay another one, and tell me in the clearest way possible, what is going on?" She put aside her tab and the rest of her things from her lap and focused solely on the distressed blonde. "Don't tell me this has something to do with that wannabe beefcake who kept asking you out, Taylor, Tyler, was it? Anyways, he's not stalking you is he? Because help me God I'll…"

"Bonnie!" Caroline exclaimed and her friend made a gesture of zipping her mouth. "We have house guests." She said plainly as if it sufficed as a summary.

"Great" Bonnie responded uncertainly, "I'm sure you can handle it, you've been receiving company into your home since you were very young." She shrugged her shoulders, confident about her friend's ability to be amicable with whoever she pleases to grant her attention.

"It's different!" Caroline shrieked which caused a few students nearby to turn their heads toward them so she continued with a quieter voice, "We haven't seen them in years, they left when we were six and had been radio silent since then. As far as I know they've never extended any sort of desire of keeping their lines open for communication at least with my parents, I would know, my dad would let me organize his e-mails and letters every once in a while, plus they've never set foot in this country since they left and suddenly they're here, their father is best buds with my dad again and it's all so confusing." She had been waving her hands dramatically as she spoke.

Bonnie contemplated on the quick overview she gave her and furrowed her eyebrows, "Who are we talking about again? Because you seemed to have missed that tiny detail or I did, not sure which is which, from all the garble of words you just spewed on me. Not that I'm not used to it by now."

Caroline hit her lightly on the shoulder and Bonnie giggled. "Remember those kids we used to go to school with but no one really ever befriended them because their parents were too scary and they themselves were a little too terrifying for children their age?"

Bonnie's answering blank look made her continue, "They had a lot of sons and one daughter, two of them were blondes and the rest were brunettes, they used to live in the old mansion off town, near the trails that lead to the falls."

Bonnie's eyes brightened in recognition, "Mikaelson? Yes I remember being classmates with their daughter, she was a tad too snobbish back then. Never really went up and talked to her."

"She still is." Caroline nodded her head in affirmation.

They were caught in their own thoughts for a while, picturing their old school in Mystic Falls until Bonnie spoke again, inquisitiveness seeping into her tone, "So… what makes it so different than all the other times you welcomed your parent's visitors?"

Caroline then rehashed in detail the family's plan to stay in their home for the time being, all their plans of expanding their business there, the family dinner she endured, her conversation with her mother earlier, to which she related dolefully, she even told her about Klaus' apparent need to warn her to which Bonnie groaned disbelievingly although her friend assured her that it was nothing she can't handle besides it's not like he'll ever talk to her again after that, the man was so greedy with his words and not even a teasing jest from his sister could break him out of whatever deepness he was in. Not that she was thinking about him basically ignoring her presence this morning. Nope, definitely not.

Later on, they find themselves hovering over Bonnie's tablet searching for anything about them. Caroline's friend was way better in things technology related than her, no actually scratch that, Bonnie is precisely the goddess of anything that has to do with computers.

Aside from taking courses to complete her degree in Computer Science, she's currently interning in their company's IT Department, and she's also a scholar for their foundation, in short, Bonnie is a genius and Caroline couldn't be more proud of her.

"I've tried every nook and corner I could find but nothing, nada, nil." Caroline huffed desperately beside her.

"Well, sweetheart you don't have my means." Bonnie stated confidently with an almost clever smile, without taking her eyes off the screen. "Besides you went to pages legally approved to be open to the public." She lifted her shoulders unconcerned about possible repercussions.

"You should firewall all of my stuff, I wonder why I never thought about it before." Caroline murmured absentmindedly, while she looked over her friend's shoulder.

A few more minutes passed as Bonnie furiously allowed her fingers and her mind to peruse all possible means to find anything while Caroline scanned her notes, highlighting texts that are of importance and scribbling additional remarks on the sides.

She was in the middle of a complex statement regarding the relationship and importance of lighting to the mood of a character when Bonnie grabbed her arm in a tight grip, her mouth hung open in frozen astonishment.

"What?" Caroline asked her apprehensively, "Bonnie? What did you find out?"

"I should have known it was him." She quietly said as a form of reply, "How could I be so stupid." She kept muttering to herself about things that didn't make any sense to her friend, her face fixed in between alarm and curiosity.

"Should have known what?" Caroline asked almost to herself seeing that Bonnie couldn't even formulate a coherent reply, she snatched her tablet from her and was a tad surprised when she didn't even made a move to take it back, if it were any other time, Bonnie would've had made sure she never dares to try it again. She learnt that the hard way.

Caroline clicked on the tabs that were lined on the open window, scrolling through the pages to find what made her friend lose it. As she flipped through these, she saw real estate advertising sites, a page about popular wineries in southern Italy, an online buy and sell site that exclusively caters to antique goods, an unofficial university webpage that has various photos of college students in frat parties and numerous agitated protests about how the educational system has gone down the drain plastered all over it, Caroline was about to skip it but the face of a few years younger version of Kol stared back at her, arms slung over similarly grinning boys, his face alight with that constant humor that never ceases to amuse him.

He had a jersey jacket on that was unarguably compulsory as everyone else in the photo donned a burgundy jacket, on his right chest was a seal but because of the picture's low quality and bad lighting, it did not afford them further info as to what house it belonged to, the captions were also entirely unhelpful as it never really gave anything away. "Hey Bon, could you enhance this? I'm sure we can…"

Bonnie was stricken with something akin to embarrassment and shock, she was fidgeting with her hands and sweat was starting to form on her temple.

"I met him before." She stated plainly, eyes still darted away from the blonde. "Right after high school before I came to Deeplake. I was in Tuscany, I spent days there getting wasted on wine and scenery when I met him."

Caroline's face contorted into a confused frown, "You said you never met anyone when you went backpacking."

Bonnie sighed and dragged her palms over her face, "Technically we never really met, _met_." She shook her head at her friend's puckered brow, "There was a particular bar that I frequented, the choices of liquor were a great fit to my budget and the patrons were a pleasant company. One night, or morning really, I was one of the last persons to leave the joint, but just to be clear, I wasn't drunk."

Caroline eagerly listened to her, hoping that it would get them somewhere, Bonnie went on, the astonishment ebbing away from her features, "There was a guy, slumped over his beer, he was dressed in a suit but it was torn in some places and his tie was recklessly askew, he had a bruise forming on his left cheek. The bartender who I was already acquainted to and was beginning to be a friend, asked me to watch him for a while as he tends to their closing. They were roommates is what he said."

"When I came next to said guy, he started speaking to me, he looked so distressed, so tormented. He said that his life was twisted beyond repair, that all he ever did was follow the rules, that even from miles away he could feel eyes watching him, making sure he took the right step forward. He told me that all he ever wanted to do was to get away and leave everything behind, but he couldn't do that to _them_."

"Them?" Caroline asked, shaking her head.

Bonnie shrugged, also unsure who Kol meant by 'them'. Slowly she repeated what he said to her, almost mimicking the way he said it before, "He just kept on saying 'one day'. One day he'll run, one day they'll all run, one day they didn't have to watch their backs, one day they'll be free."

X

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X

Caroline quietly stepped inside their house, feeling every bit the stranger in it than she really is. Bonnie's reminiscence of her unexpected tête-á-tête with the young Mikaelson just cemented her suspicions that their arrival is anything but random, even their excuse of broadening the reach of their business seem a lot shady now. They are running from someone, of that she is certain.

But more than her eagerness to know the specifics of this chase, she was extremely uneasy for her parents' unavoidable involvement in this, if Bonnie's account is anything to go by, it pretty much looks like the person who is after them is way beyond their means of control, for a reputable family like theirs, with a vast amount of resources to back them up, and still they are unable to get this person off their back, doesn't sound really good to her.

But Bonnie was in Europe two years ago, right after their high school graduation, it's possible that they've dealt with it within the last couple of years. Or not.

She had been vying for stealth as she carefully made her way upstairs to her room, her hand laden with her folder, her purse, her phone (in case Bonnie calls), and a bag of Thai for her dinner. She felt crazy, mumbling to herself why she felt the need to be inconspicuous in a place where she should feel the safest.

"Evening, darling." A voice that was definitely paired with a coy grin sounded behind her just as she rounded the corner to her hall, "You didn't join us for dinner." She turned and confirmed the cheeky gleam in his face.

Caroline gave him and his sister who was regarding her with impertinent interest although she hid her curiosity by examining the ends of her hair as if she was indifferent to hear anything Caroline has to say.

"Busy day." She simply stated with an apologetic shrug, "I'm sorry I couldn't spare the evening to play gracious host." She hardly tried to conceal the sarcasm in her voice and Rebekah suddenly flashed her eyes dangerously at her but Caroline brushed it off by smirking at the both of them, "I hope you guys have your fill. Please enjoy the rest of your night, I have a long one ahead of me, college is a strenuous and jealous exercise." She spun on her heels, anxious to get to the safety of her bedroom.

Rebekah quickly stepped to thwart her escape, she glowered at her but Caroline only faced her with a well rehearsed look of nonchalance and a hint of challenge in her eyes, she will not let these people threaten her in her own home.

"Careful Caroline, your manners are showing."

Caroline regarded her cautiously, for a moment there making Rebekah believe she was actually considering her remark. She made a gesture of tapping her finger on her chin a few times and nodded her head as if in contemplation, "Yes I'll remember that."

She bumped Rebekah's shoulder as she made her way past the subtly fuming blonde but not without saying in a low, daunting tone, "Careful, Rebekah, your ire doesn't suit you."

"I said it once, I'll say it again." The female Mikaelson snapped, matching the taunt in Caroline's statement, not allowing her to have the last word, speaking to her without sparing her a glance, "Don't ever for a second think that you know us."

She was left with that last biting comeback as the siblings marched away from her. She closed her eyes tightly and sighed heavily. The lone soldier needed people on her side too if she had to deal with a pack of threat loving kin.

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_She was a little girl and she didn't know much, she didn't understand things like the grown ups do, in her mind there were only rainbows, butterflies and cotton candies.  
><em>

_She didn't know people could be monsters too.  
><em>

_She believed people were good, they smile to her when she passes by them, the little old lady who lives beside them would knock on their door and bring her pies filled with berries and topped with cream, she was the station's little darling, their office would brighten up when she visits, their stiff dispositions would crumble to amused smiles whenever she was there, she is her daddy's only princess and even though everyone at school preferred someone else than her, someone prettier and had doe eyes, she would just gladly say to herself that that's because people are beautiful in many ways and each of them appreciate beauty in diverse ways. Each to its own.  
><em>

_So it had come as terrifying truth to her when she saw the same blue eyed boy she has recently seen, leaning on the wall at the back of their school, his hoodie was covering half of his face but she could clearly see the barely healed wound in his busted lips, there was also a bruise on his chin, and he was gently rubbing the outside of his thighs as if dulling a pain.  
><em>

_"Did he do that?" She asked without preamble. The boy was startled and took a step away from her but upon seeing the she posed no great threat, he went back to leaning against the wall and faced away from Caroline.  
><em>

_"Go away." He spat, disdain clear in his voice.  
><em>

_She played with the hem of her jacket and shifted in her feet but made no move to leave. Clouds went past the sun, making shadows on the ground, playing chase with the leaves scattered on the grass that the wind blew away, children were playing on the other side of the building, their laughter ringing through the school, minutes passed as the boy remained stoic on his post, hands stuffed inside the pockets of his sweater, looking at the ground as if cursing it.  
><em>

_"I can put ice on it." she suggested amiably, hands clasping in front of her chest as she found herself excited at the prospect of helping someone, "Don't go, just stay here and I'll get you some." She was practically bouncing on her feet as she ran inside the building, missing the boy's scowl and his attempt to call her back, so he slumped against the wall, exasperated with the meddling little blonde.  
><em>

_People care, that's what she has always believed in, because in her home where everything were made perfect for her by her parents, cruelty is a myth created to scare babies and are exclusive for movie and storybook villains, and they aren't real. _

_But slowly, right there in her perfect bubble, the reality of an imperfect world begins to penetrate, and instead of living in denial, this is what she do, she cares.  
><em>

_Because there could be bad people, people who could hurt defenseless children, people who could make others paralyzed with just their voice, people who could bruise others deeper than the skin.  
><em>

_She went back to the boy hoping he was still there, her hands numbing with the ice. As she drew near, hushed voices could be heard, two people arguing in low tones. She stepped outside to find the boy having a heated conversation with a girl who was about her age.  
><em>

_"You have to stay away from them, Nik, if father finds out..."  
><em>

_"He'll what? There's nothing he could do that he hasn't done yet."  
><em>

_"You know he just wants what's best for us. We can't let..."  
><em>

_"What's best for us? You think this is best for us? Darling Rebekah you're too young to understand."  
><em>

_"Then make me! You, Elijah, Kol, you keep yourselves to your room and whisper about things you don't want me to know."  
><em>

_"You won't get it."  
><em>

_"__It's because you never try!"_

_The ice on Caroline's hand started to burn and her sudden gasp made the two turn towards her.  
>"I'm sorry I was just bringing ice for him. He looks like he needed it." She tried for a warm smile but the both of them just glowered intensely.<br>_

_"I told you to go away."  
><em>

_"But I can't just leave you like that, you have..."  
><em>

_"He has what?" The girl glared at her, standing protectively before him.  
><em>

_Caroline became petrified to speak, her fingers aching with the cold. She should have gotten a bag, why did she have to be too excited that she'd forget that?  
><em>

_"I just thought I could do something to help." She willed her lips from trembling. It wasn't really an easy world.  
><em>

_"And I don't need it." The boy stated in a clipped tone and then left the girls behind, one remained motionless and the other was fixing the other one with a scowl.  
><em>

_"Don't ever come near him again." She fiercely took a step before Caroline. "Don't pretend to care and never think you know us, enough for you to believe we need your help."  
><em>

_Caroline became wary of who she helped from that day. But it never stopped her in the long run._

* * *

><p><strong>tbc<strong>

**My warmest thanks to everyone for the reviews/follow/favorite! **

**Special thanks to: LonelyKlaroliner, jessnicole, MrsLeaMorgan, klaroline4everlove, and the guest reviewer!**

**Until next chapter, my loves!**

**Drop me your thoughts, pretty please?**


	4. Chapter 4

****CHAPTER FOUR****

**"The stars we are given. The constellations we make. That is to say, stars exist in the cosmos, but constellations are the imaginary lines we draw between them, the readings we give the sky, the stories we tell." -Rebecca Solnit**

Forbes Prime Cargo International stands in the core of the business district in Deeplake City. It is surrounded by towering structures that house the most affluent companies in the county. It showcases modern architecture at its best, an edifice of stone and glass, all forty seven floors of bustling offices, white halls, engraved steel on doors, the enigmatic view of the city from the top floors, state of the art equipments, a mini museum where photos, newspaper or magazine articles, trophies and awards are displayed for the guests, and a presidential suite that includes Bill's office which is located on the topmost floor of the skyscraper.

Caroline sauntered confidently into the building as employees gave way to her entrance and greeted her with amiable smiles. She returned an earnest beam to them as she made her way to a private elevator that was for the exclusive use of their family and VIP's. She slumped against the wall as soon as the doors slid close. She rested her head against the mirror and stared at her face, the exhaustion on it expertly covered in makeup.

For the past week she has been juggling her time between organizing the upcoming annual charity gala for their company and rehearsals for their theater's biggest production of the year, she was to play the lead character and it may determine her success for future roles especially international wise since prominent people from the industry would be coming to see her act.

Although she was grateful enough for the distraction, more work for her meant she can avoid going home as much as she can. She'd leave the house before anyone else was up and would come back past midnight, she would only catch up on sleep during the car ride or on breaks. Nevertheless she would gladly have it rather than spend one more minute with the Mikaelsons.

Mikael, Esther and Elijah would be gone for a day, or at times days, probably meeting with potential investors or scouring the area for prospective lands. The younger ones she didn't care where they went nor did she bother to ask, the incident in the hallway was the last of them that she saw. Now she was really thankful her parents invested on a large home, she didn't have to see any of their guests regularly.

She was to meet her father's secretary today to collaborate about the anticipated party, all the lists should be finalized, invitations to be sent out, the venue and decorations to be approved, the menu to be double checked and within preference, she even had to check with the designers for her parents outfits.

The elevator dinged as it revealed her father's suite. The lobby had a lavish interior, the front desk was made of stone and furnished wood, the company logo stark against the white wall behind it, a set of black leather chairs surrounded a coffee table on her right and the area provided a panoramic view of the city, the sky reflecting on the glass of the other buildings, making it feel like everything was suspended in the air.

"Good morning, Miss Forbes!" the lady behind the desk greeted her with a high pitch voice and Caroline had to suppress a cringe. "Miss Dana is still in the conference room taking minutes for Mr. Forbes, but she'll be out in fifteen minutes, or would you like to see her now? I can take over her place if it's urgent." she offered. Dana had been her father's secretary ever since he started his business from scratch, she's already in her early fifties but she has been dynamic as she had been when she started to work with their family. Her own family had been invited to the Forbes Thanksgiving party a few times over the years.

"No that's fine, no need to interrupt their meeting." Caroline gave her a reassuring wave and scanned the office for other employees. "It seems like a non hectic day." She mused loudly and the other girl grinned.

"Would you like something to drink while you wait, Miss? Maybe a cup of coffee?"

Caroline shook her head distractedly as she made her way to her father's office. "No, I'm good. I'll just wait inside. Thanks."

She shut the door behind her quietly. Her eyes scanning the wide space her father frequented. One side of the room was entirely walled with glass and the other one where his table was situated was bare, aside from the only adornment which was a framed picture of the Forbes from when she was a little girl, when they had their home built in the city.

That was a milestone in their life that her father had treasured the most, that against Caroline's protest to have it removed because of her embarrassment of missing a few teeth in that photo, her father would not acquiesce her request with a teasing smile.

She placed her things on the leather seat by the window, took out her flash drive and went to his desk, nerves wracking her psyche. The details of the charity gala that has to be furnished immediately was a perfect excuse for her to swing by the office and gather intel about things that has been haunting her head for weeks to count.

Despite being basically a part of the business, there were files and data she did not have access to, and even though Bonnie could and would do it for her from the IT department, Caroline could not let her risk her job and scholarship because of a petty obsession she had with a family. Yes, she really called it a petty obsession inside her head.

Bill had given her access to his personal computer for when he needs her to check and organize things for him but he did not teach her how to navigate the company's own software systems so she had to learn her way through it. She willed her hands to stay steady as her fingers flew through the keyboard, typing in her dad's username and passwords to access different parts of their system.

Company records, list of employees, deals they have closed over the years, profiles of important people they have been in contact with, anything that will lead it to the Mikaelsons, her flash drive signaled her that it has reached its memory limit, so she took out another one and continued copying files that might be of importance to her search.

She barely heard the door opening, her father's voice filling the silence, she jumped from the seat and quickly closed all the programs she opened and pocketed her drive. She regulated her breathing as her father left instructions to his assistants.

He was a bit surprised to see her there but nonetheless gave her a small smile, if he didn't know better he would've believed she was up to something but Caroline was an expert in distractions and she vacated his seat with a full on grin, it would deter her dad from asking what she was doing with his computer.

"I didn't know you'd come by." Bill stated as he loosened his tie and placed a stack of papers on his desk before sitting on his swivel.

Caroline shrugged innocently, "I really needed the details of the gala to be approved and finalized." She replied just as she has rehearsed it in her head. "There were a few things I needed to confirm with Dana before I could proceed."

Her father hummed, deep in thought, "I heard you had been rarely home this past week, tight schedules?" Bill eyed her worriedly, "You don't have to wear yourself out, sweetheart. I pay employees for these kinds of things. You told me before that you're going to play a very important role in the production you're preparing for, I can ask someone else to take over your responsibilities and you can endorse everything to them."

"I can't just _endorse_ things, you know that." She said in a pleading tone, "I can do it, I promise, I still get enough sleep, if that's what you're worried about, _really_." Caroline stated in a very convincing manner but her father looked at her as if he knew she was lying but then he sighed.

"Alright, but if it starts being detrimental to your health _and_ to your studies, I will personally take that burden off your hands. No more projects for six months…"

"Six months!" she exclaimed in remonstration, her foot pounded on the floor. "That's too much."

Bill went on as if she haven't shown any sign of objection, "…no parties or galas, no organizing of anything, and I will ban you from the building if need be. Until you can recuperate and function as a well rounded daughter and college student. Or until the six month period ends."

"Daddy please, you can't do that." Caroline begged him with doe eyes, hoping it would work just like the many times before that her dad wasn't able to deny her anything. "Especially completely forbidding me from coming here. That's, that's… barbaric!" she was on the verge of committing a full blown tantrum but her dad just gave away a small chuckle.

"Don't be too dramatic, Care Bear. You agree to our deal, you comply with your end of the bargain and no banning will ensue. Promise." He folded his hands in front of him in a serious manner. "Do we have a deal?"

Caroline looked at him incredulously, her begging with puppy dog eyes was ineffective and her father seemed resolute about his proposal, she can't give up the projects but neither can she give up her access from the company, so with a resigned nod, she slumped her shoulders disappointedly. "Okay."

"Great." Bill grinned, feeling accomplished. "Now, you can discuss with Dana in the conference room and I need to be ready for another meeting in a few minutes."

"Bye, Daddy." She said quietly, she picked up her things and went out of the room, her feet dragging on the floor as she walked.

X

X

X

"I have something for you." Caroline dangled both of her flash drives in front of Bonnie's face the moment she sat down across from her. They decided to see each other before their respective classes in a café just outside their school grounds. Her friend was about to relieve it from her grasp when Caroline pulled it away. "Wait!"

"What now?" Bonnie muttered while shaking her head. "If you can't see, I'm busy with a paper due tomorrow."

Caroline pouted, "I'm sorry, I promise I won't be bothering you if it wasn't so important, but this is urgent. My life had just been on the edge of falling apart when I took this. So I need you to promise me to keep it safe and secure." Her face betrayed no trace of triviality.

Bonnie's face was creased with perplexity. "What are you talking about? What happened?"

"I'll tell you some other time, I'm not really in the mood to rehash that right now. It will use up my energy and eat away our time. But…" she finally handed her the drives and in a stern attitude reminded Bonnie, "this one is more critical, once you open it I'm sure you'll know what to do with it, way better than I do."

Her friend scrutinized the drives like puzzle pieces and flicked her eyes from it to Caroline, "You said you'd drop by the office, if these contain company profiles, I told you I could get them for you. It would've been less of a hassle."

"But won't it leave prints or something, whatever you call it between you tech buffs."

Bonnie shook her head amusedly, "How many times do I have to tell you I have my ways." She wanted to reassure her friend but Caroline's face remained the same. "Fine. I'll deal with this as soon as I get out from class."

Caroline sighed in relief, she thanked her profusely, showering her with compliments on how she was the best of all the best friends in the entire planet and how she would ever live in this world without her, and she started to pick up her things to leave.

"Hold on." Bonnie piped up, "There's something you should know." Her tone was grim and Caroline dropped on the seat again, nodding for her to go on. "I was in the administration building today, I had to visit the registrar regarding my scholarship. No need to panic, it's nothing to be worried about." She paused and added swiftly in a tremulous voice, "I believe I saw Kol and Rebekah coming out of the president's office. With Mikael."

X

X

X

She was sprawled on her bed, staring at the ceiling, surrounded by a multitude of notes, colored and in varying sizes, a range of markers was also scattered beside her, and so are her multi colored pens, her opened purse with its contents spilling out of it haphazardly, her folder of scripts, an opened box of pizza which she barely touched, an empty can of cola, and she swears her phone is right there somewhere, maybe beneath the blankets or whatever.

She was supposed to be memorizing her lines, she has already put up a timetable beside her vanity so she can make sure that her time for matters regarding the upcoming annual party and her time for theatre rehearsals and personal practice don't overlap. Her dad had just made a number on her and she had to hold out her end of the bargain.

But all she can think about is how in the world she was supposed to function as a '_well rounded daughter and student'_ when wherever she turned she found a Mikaelson sprouting about. She had already considered the places outside her home as safe zones, and now the siblings from god knows where had to infiltrate her school too.

How their father had persuaded the president to allow them to register when the semester had already started and considering there are requirements to be submitted and fulfilled before they can even be considered in one of the colleges was beyond her. Their influence really did span far and wide.

She was frustrated. Rebekah made it clear that there was no way they can be anything more than civil towards each other and Kol, he does nothing but give her leering looks and inappropriate comments that make her want to knock off some of his teeth so he can stop smirking at her like that.

She let out a startled gasp when her phone started to ring and vibrated against her back, she tried to dig it from the mass of papers and answered it quickly as soon as she saw Bonnie's name on the screen. "Did you find anything?" she asked breathlessly.

"Not from the one you gave me." There was a rustle of papers and the sound of Bonnie's fingers tapping on the keyboard, "But, I know someone who works at the District Attorney's office, let's say he needed a favor and so do I, it was a generous barter if you ask me…"

"Bonnie…" Caroline whined impatiently.

Her friend chuckled on the other line and Caroline groaned before Bonnie went on, "Okay, okay. There's this software that government offices can access and they can immediately see a person's profile whoever or wherever they are in the world. That includes all their legal documents, employment data, tax revenues, etcetera, etcetera. Not only that, but all the cases filed against them are also profiled into this internal network, whether it be petty or grave.

"There were cases from the past two decades that were either not encoded into the software system and had only retained their hard copies or there are ones that were taken down after they had been filed in there. Some were done under court order, some were done through less than legal means." The mouse clicked, more keys were tapped, "Those cases that were deleted from the main system had also obliterated all web articles, television and radio coverage relating to them."

Caroline bit her lip while she listened edgily, her legs dangling back and forth on the side of her bed restlessly. "They want to hide, they're wiping off their tracks."

"Or they wanted to run for office." Bonnie supplemented indubitably, "Here, I managed to dig up a snippet of an article that was taken down, don't ask me how."

"Wasn't going to." Caroline shook her head, almost begging her friend to just spill it out.

"There's no date included but from what I've read Mikael had once been suspected of transporting illegal commodities to Spain. But he was acquitted and it was all a case of mistaken cargo, turned out he had his shipment delivered on the same freighter that those goods were hauled into. A Connor Jordan was the one that got arrested for the crime. I searched for him, he had been out of jail after a pardon was approved."

"He was pardoned? After how long?" Caroline asked disbelievingly, "Under what jurisdiction? Do you know which country he came from?"

"Nope. It's a dead end." Bonnie replied disappointedly. "Nothing more on the Connor Jordan front. There are people who have a similar name as he, but they don't match any description or history that I have of him which is so scant, by the way."

Caroline let that soak in for a moment, she didn't even want to consider the possibilities that Mikael had been in anyway involved in that. "Do you think…?" she let her question hang, not really confident in saying it out loud.

Bonnie sighed from the other line and said to her friend in a soft voice, "I don't know Care, but everything seems a lot shadier every moment. Although we can't just jump into conclusions yet, after all it was a false accusation."

"You're right." She replied, irresolute and uneasy. "Look, thank you for doing this for me. If I had half the genius you have I would have done this without bothering you."

"Oh hush, there you go again." Bonnie refuted, an obvious smile on her tone. "You were bothered a lot when you helped me build a life in this city, helped me gain a scholarship and an internship, we've been best friends for twenty years…"

"How did two innocent and irrational infants become best friends?" Caroline jovially intercepted.

"Care, I wouldn't have done anything otherwise, so suck it up, I'm not letting you do this alone." Her tone was so affectionate and warm, Caroline could hug her right now if she could. "Now get some sleep, or you'll lose that deal with your dad."

She grunted as she dropped her head on her palm, "Don't remind me. But you should get some too, and thank you so much, Bon."

"You're welcome. 'Night, Care."

"Night, Bonnie."

X

X

X

Caroline used to play in their library when she was a little girl, her father forbid it saying that it was not a place for kids to play, it was supposed to be a sanctuary for those who feed their minds and make it nurturing grounds for ideas and the imagination.

She didn't get any of it at first and still went on bringing her dolls and her playhouse there, she told him the light of the afternoon sun hits the room perfectly, it's warm and it casts a beautiful glow inside and it makes her plastic dollhouse look like a castle, the way the light would hit it from that angle.

But then Bill started to add colorful pop-up books into the collection which inevitably took her attention and she approached the shelves herself, scanning colorful pages after colorful pages, running her fingers through the spines as she chooses which one to read next. Until she grew to love them and went on reading books with lesser pictures and eventually, she was able to finish her first novel. Her father couldn't be more happier.

She has her own corner in the library where she keeps her personal collection, it ranged from Austen, to Dickens, to Bronte, Wilde, Burnett, Verne, Tolkien, and even contemporary writers that are all the rage these days like Collins and Rowling. She prided herself for being so diligent as to keep her books in pristine condition especially because as a student, she has saved up a part of her allowance just to buy them.

Caroline ran her finger over them, frowning a little at the dust that has gathered on the covers, she had been spending so much time between school and work that she has neglected coming to the library and pick something to read. In fact, she was only there tonight because her parents had a vast compilation of old newspapers and magazines in one section of the room.

They had been religiously collating them ever since they had built the place, it was a good way to study the trends on economy, anthropology, politics and the like. Nothing like a good old fashioned "Google" search.

She only flicked the light on, on one side of the room, it was actually wide enough that it needs more than a few lights to illuminate the entire area. She rubbed both palms over her arms as she crossed to the opposite side where the periodicals were kept, a chilly current of air had escaped through a window that was left slightly ajar, someone has a nasty habit of leaving these windows open.

Ignoring the nippy feeling on her skin, she wasted no time in switching the lights on in that corner, blinking a few times to adjust her vision from the assaulting brightness. As soon as she was able to see clearly again, she examined the dates placed strategically on the shelves, she had this done for her parents years ago to help them find editions easier. When she got to the prints that were dated within the year the Mikaelson's left Mystic Falls, she pulled the box containing publications from various sources.

She opened it and took out a few ones from the first months of that year, shaking them a bit to rid them of dust. Holding it in front of her, careful not to let it touch her sleep wear, she turned around to sit on one of the chesterfield chairs that were angled towards the window.

"Busy?" a disembodied voice broke through the eerie silence.

Caroline squealed in fright, almost dropping the copies before she gripped them more firmly. She took in a huge amount of air and tried to tame down her racing heartbeat, she clutched the papers closer to her chest, not anymore heedful of the dirt it will get her clothes, the moment she realized how underdressed she was compared to the man fully clad in his usual pair of Henley and jeans.

"Do you ever just stay in the dark and brood?" she asked him in a tone that suggests they were closer than they really are, she mentally scolded herself, she had to be mindful of her tone, she wasn't speaking to her best friends or her parents. This wasn't Stefan or Bonnie.

He picked up a book that was resting on the table before him and was quickly engrossed in it, although Caroline couldn't tell what it was for it had a dark, leather cover and its title was printed inside. His eyes slowly panned through the words, his forehead creased momentarily before it went back to its stoic manner. Sometimes she would see a flicker of a delighted gleam in his eyes before it fades under a veiled expression once again.

He didn't speak once more, even as she plopped herself comfortably on the chair opposite him, she arranged the papers delicately, careful not to tear their fragile edges, on her lap. She flipped through a copy, silently rendering her companion furtive glances. He was so focused on whatever world he was in now, that she thought it was a privilege to observe him like this, if only he would lower his armor and gave her some semblance of what it would look like for him to show an inch of emotion, even if it was evoked by a book. Or more so because it was induced by literature.

"Having a difficult time researching?" he sounded again from his seat, turning to another page without taking his eyes off it. "The internet not apt enough to suit your needs?" If he didn't sound too monotonous she would've thought he was mocking her. Well, she really does think he was.

She shrugged even though she knew he wasn't looking up to see it, "Thought I'd give it a try, there's nothing as authentic as a carefully written article, is there? Not that I have anything against web circulated ones." She spared a few more peeks at him but he seemed undisturbed by her presence, she figured she could rattle the cage a bit, and maybe bite her tongue later for being such a huge babbler. "What are you reading?"

"Dickens." Klaus replied tediously, she waited for him to elaborate but he was intent on keeping his concentration on the book.

_Why am I not surprised by your choice?_ She muttered internally. "My mom loved his work too. She likes to believe that if she had to choose whose author she would invade a mind for, it would be his." She made an effort to look as nonplussed as possible, like his presence didn't unnerved her, especially because the object of her research was right there in front of her. She pried the pages of a magazine apart cautiously, not daring to look up in case he watched her too.

The sound of a book thumping softly close made her flash her eyes minutely towards him, she was about to bring it down to her work again when she was caught by his trenchant gaze. Awkwardly, she straightened her back, self conscious and fairly on edge. The book was now placed on his lap, his elbows settling on the arms of the chair, and his fingers laced together before him. "What are you looking for?" he asked quietly, but the kind that was challenging for truth.

Her fingers played with the edge of a paper unconsciously, her eyes darted on the features of his face, as if her answer could be found on the lines on his lips or on the wrinkles of his eyes. "It's for a class I'm taking this semester." She stated in an obvious tone. "Like I said I wanted my work to be authentic, singular from the rest, I need to catch my professor's attention."

His face remained impassive, gazing at her, looking for something in her manner or voice that will betray her, now she was the one being studied. "Really?" his eyebrows raised but his face remained as deadpan.

She knew he knew she was lying. And though she was aware that there's no point in brewing a story that he will never buy, the alternative seemed a much graver choice. She lifted her chin and spoke in the surest voice she could muster, "Yes. We need a vantage point on the events that took place while we were growing up, taking note of the things that shaped the society that we have today, what made it the way it is."

"Shouldn't you be looking farther than that, then?" He gestured to the stack, haphazardly placed on her lap. "The last sixteen years would hardly ever tell you anything, you'd need something more substantial, more aggravating than the papers that featured the selfishness of those in power and publications that constantly reminded people what they think they lack.

Whatever he tried to say, Caroline was fairly sure he wasn't really referring to the lie she chose to tell, but rather the truth she willingly withheld.

He went on as he gestured to the stack on her lap. "What would those papers contain? They will barely give you a glimpse of the truth, and the magazines? The taste in clothing might have improved but the message still remains the same, unless everyone looks like a supermodel, no one shall be good enough."

Her lips hung open in awe. That was the first time he ever talked longer than a few chosen words. Words that did not spur her away, words that weren't threatening. Words that actually sounded too close to being generous. "You… you… you have a point." She stuttered lamely. "What do you suggest then? It's not like I can go out there and take people's personal accounts?" she shrugged her shoulders with a small laugh.

He mirrored her gesture aside from the laugh and looked out the window, the crescent moon hung forlornly on the sky, thin clouds now and then shrouding its pale face. "Not everyone projects their thoughts through words, sometimes you don't really have to talk to them. There will be times that it wouldn't take a genius to know someone simply by observation."

"That's not true." She shook her head defiantly. He turned towards her, daring her to convince him otherwise. "Not even for people who claim they are an open book, everyone has stories they dare not tell, and we all have skeletons in our closet no matter how minimal, they're still secrets we ought to keep." Her voice was stern, unwavering, and her eyes fixed on him, daunting.

Klaus pressed his lips in a thin line and looked away from her. He does this a lot, she observed, like he's shipping himself to a distant land no one can reach. A few moments without anyone speaking passed, he leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees and eyed the papers in front of her.

"Why did you pick that year?"

She hurriedly rearranged them in a stack, fruitlessly taking it away from his sight. "That's as far as I can remember from my childhood. Thought I'd start with something I can actually recall, at least glimpses of it." How she could weave her cover story so seamlessly and say it in the most convincing quality she couldn't even imagine.

He scoffed. An actual scoff that made her hang her mouth open in surprise. He supposed it to be unnoticeable but she has seen it anyway. She wouldn't be able to lie to him without him figuring it all out.

"I did tell you not to go probing around, didn't I?" He shook his head and leaned back on the chair.

Caroline glares at him, her cheeks flushing in annoyance. "You know what? The world doesn't revolve around you. Or your family. Should those warnings mean anything to me?" She stood up and hastily replaced everything she took out from the box. She closed it with a slam and faced him with her arms across her chest. "Everything you have ever said to me makes me wonder even more, are you trying to tell me something?"

Klaus stood up from the chair with the book in his grasp, he strides brazenly towards her. "Am I?" he asked eerily in a quiet tone. "You're an intelligent woman, Caroline. I'm confident you can figure it all out."

"This counts as our second conversation, and both times you had been dropping hints, you don't expect me to just sit idly by and watch, do you?" She keeps the tenacity in her voice although he addressing her with her name for the first time unhinged her balance quite a bit.

Staring unblinkingly towards each other should be one of their things. Or glowering might be the proper term. She could feel his breath on her face, almost smell the hint of cologne on him and the scent of his shirt. At the back of her mind someone's telling her, or more like screaming to her, that he could definitely smell her too.

He took a step back and regarded her carefully, "Lying doesn't suit you, Caroline."

"Nor you." She retorted quickly. "I'm going to bed. Turn the lights off when you're done. Maybe you'll learn to turn them on next time." She left him staring at her retreating figure, sauntering out of the library in a confident pace.

* * *

><p><strong>tbc<strong>

**A/N: Thank you guys for reading! Forgive me for I've been a bit off lately. Sometimes real life is taking it's toll. And TO and TVD are back which means madness shall ensue, but ya'll not here for my rant.**

**Be patient with this one if it seems slow, Klaus and Caroline are still at the point of feeling where each one of them stands, they definitely don't trust each other at this point in my story, but things have to start somewhere, right? Anyways. My gratitude to the follows, faves, and reviews(klaroline4everlove, iamkatherine, jessnicole, Ellavm18, messy75, tippy093, and the guest reviewer). Virtual hugs to you all! **

**Until next time!**

**Come see me at my tumblr? silenceofthequeen**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"_Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; _

_I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." _

_-Sarah Williams_

Summer had been over for months. But somehow the day mimicked the way summer feels. The way the sun warmed her skin, the way its light danced through the tresses of her hair, the wind humming against her ears as she drove through the unobstructed highway. A slight morning mist can still be seen from the distance, beyond the trees that lined both sides of the road, with the sun not on its peak yet, the trees casted broken shadows on her face.

They were on their way to their family lake house. It was tradition for them to spend one week at least every two months to scramble away from the chaos of the city and never ending business transactions, crime fighting, and play rehearsals, to spend time as a family.

But today that tradition was broken.

Bill had profusely apologized to her for not being able to join her for this one weekend. _Just this one, sweetheart._ He promised her. She relented with a pout especially after hearing that the Mikaelson brood would be joining her instead. She bargained if she could bring Bonnie but her friend was neck deep at work and school. Caroline wished she could help her instead of being dragged to this trip but Bonnie insisted she push through. Besides, there are far more useful info behind enemy lines.

They brought two SUV's with them, both loaded with overnight bags, coolers, and food baskets. Caroline was equally glad and surprised that Stefan was tagging along, after a no show for weeks, he has finally resurrected from whatever matter he holed himself to, she thinks she could persuade him into minimizing his disappearing acts.

The two of them were the only ones who were legally allowed to drive in the country, yet, so begrudgingly she had agreed that they have to split, even though in order to ensure her survival for this weekend she'd rather bunk in with Stefan at all costs. But we don't always get what we want, do we?

So she drives mindlessly with the windows rolled down, she couldn't quite keep herself from being uneasy if she closed them, because that way, she'll forget the sulking man on the backseat. The background noise of the tires rolling against the cement, the wind whooshing through the windows, the flutter of trees, the occasional whiz of a car passing by, will occupy her thoughts.

She spared him a few furtive glances through the rearview mirror, grateful for the dark shade of her sunnies, he had the same stoic look on his face, but his eyes followed the sporadic sights of the woods, hills, bridges, and dilapidated homes and factories, that littered the vast scenery.

He looked calm, but she never let it betray her. People can mask veracious expressions expertly, a lie that they clad themselves like armor, until they believe that the armor becomes part of their skin, and they wear it like it can't be peeled off of them without them bleeding.

Beside him sat Henrik, busying himself with his tablet with his ear phones plugged in. He was making sound effects while he swerved the gadget left and right, she caught Klaus looking his way once, an amused gleam in his eyes which almost made her believe that he can actually smile, but somehow he felt like he was being watched, so he looked away and the landscape outside became much more interesting again.

"I hate this game." Henrik grumbled from his seat and took off his ear plugs. "Do you have movies?" he popped his head beside her, his eyes pleading.

"Henrik." His older brother reprimanded him sternly. "Caroline's driving. Here, let me help you with that game." He took the tab from him and flicked through the multitude of games his brother stored in there. "And put on your seatbelt."

The younger one sighed and buckled himself securely. "But I don't want your help. I'm just already finding all my games there boring."

"Then we'll find new ones for you. We don't have Wi-Fi here but I promise we'll download more as soon as we get home."

"Well we can just remedy that right now." Caroline made a motion of turning the car to the side of the road and then putting on the brakes. "I bring this with me just in case." She produced a stack of DVD's from her compartment and handed them to the moping child. "Pick one and we'll put it on the player."

She gave Henrik a heartening smile which widened when he bounced on his seat and frantically chose which movie to watch. Caroline flicked her eyes over to his older brother who was gazing at her with an indecipherable expression, but her attention was drawn to his lips when he mouthed a 'thank you' to her.

It wasn't a smile, which apparently doesn't come easy from him, but it was more valuable. She returned a bashful beam of her own, shook her head and mouthed a 'No problem'.

The entire ride was hassle free, the weather cooperated with them excellently, Henrik occupied himself with the movie contentedly, Klaus quietly spent the trip in his solitude, and Caroline for some unknown miracle remained silent, for some unexplainable reason, the silence in the car didn't seem too suffocating for her as she thought it would be.

Stefan was already unloading the other vehicle when they arrived, he furrowed his eyebrows when instead of being met with her ire, she greeted him with a huge grin on her face as she strutted past him.

X

X

X

"So, are you going to tell me why you had that stupid grin on your face earlier?" Stefan spoke to her in a teasing manner as they stood in front of the grill, cooking portions of steak and slices of potato, its aroma wafting deliciously in the air. "Or are you content on giving me the silent treatment all evening?"

Caroline schooled her face into the most innocent expression she could manage but her best friend will always know. "What, no, me? What do you mean?" She consciously tucked a few errant strands of hair on her ear and played with the hem of her jacket. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He chuckled as he tried to turn a piece of steak onto its opposite side. "If you could see yourself right now..." He shook his head and gave his friend a taunting grin.

"Shut up." She grumbled and helped him turn their dinner on the grill. She scanned the area and watched their companions huddled over the bonfire, a considerable distance from them. The night was clear, the stars beautifully sparkling against the deep colored sky and its reflection on the lake was a sight to charm. "Is it them?"

Stefan's eyebrows creased and he looked at her incredulously "What do you mean 'is it them'? And why are you deviating?"

"Are we going to spend this entire time tossing each other questions without actually answering them?" she put one hand against her hip and faced him with a vindicating smirk.

"You're impossible." He muttered as he returned his attention on the slowly cooking meat, arranging the burning coal underneath to distribute the heat evenly. Caroline just went on with her daunting stance that could rattle any unsuspecting victim, he sighed heavily and resisted from running his hand through his hair. "I'll answer that if you agree to answer my questions."

"What are we twelve? We're playing twenty questions now?"

"Caroline…"

"Fine." She agreed as she raised her hands in defeat. She glanced at the siblings once again, they looked carefree like this, apart from the fact that they could act regally when need be, they could be just like the rest of them, taking pleasure in the joys of a simple campfire and exulting in the liberation of a parent free weekend.

For a moment there was only the sound of the steak sizzling on the grill, Kol's incessant tirades towards his sister which Caroline could barely hear from where she's standing, Henrik's answering laughter, and Klaus, well let's just say he's probably saving up all his energy to be drawn into his siblings' antics, he already had a quarter filled tumbler in his hand, and a bottle of Bourbon by his feet.

"It was a bar brawl. I had been looking for a fight, a reckless, irrational fight." He said softly, his eyes trained afar, "They were there, long story short, they picked my ass off of the mess I made." A ghost of a smile was on his lips.

"That's it?" Caroline's face contorted into bewilderment. "I mean, they don't look like the sort that would just pick up a stranger's ass, your words not mine, and then haul him into the group."

Stefan gave her a sad, reluctant smile. "I already answered one, but I do believe that you owe me yours. You looked like you were ready to pounce on someone this morning, what changed?"

Caroline shrugged her shoulders innocently, "What do you mean? Nothing's change, I'm still going to sulk for weeks and not speak to my Dad for making me do this trip without them."

"Even though it includes me?" He made a mocking face of hurt and dodged a hit on the shoulder from the blonde. "I'm offended."

She shook her head giggling. "I'm glad you're here. I wouldn't know how I'd put up with them for the entire weekend if you weren't." She waved her hand subtly towards the Mikaelsons helplessly.

"They're not that bad." He rebutted quickly and she frowned so he playfully pinched her cheek like he always does and she swatted his hand away. "Seriously, give them a chance."

"Rebekah makes me feel like everyone else is beneath her, Kol is apparently a professional in making inappropriate commentaries, Henrik is nice, hopefully he won't end up like him, and Klaus…" She trailed off, her eyes searching for the man that was sitting on a log, watching the fire as it moved with the wind.

"Klaus?" Stefan pushed.

Caroline shook her head, her brows crinkling, "I don't know, he's a tough one to crack that's certain. I don't really know what to say about him. He's mostly silent, the perfect brooding figure of mystery. When he does speak it's all in riddles."

"Riddles?" he asked, his tone almost colored with worry. "Like what?"

"I'm not sure." She turned to her friend with a small chuckle and picked up a tong to inspect the meat. "Anyways, he's probably just cryptic like that to everyone."

"Yeah, probably." Stefan assented quietly.

"Besides, he looks like a good big brother especially to Henrik. He's not as aloof to him as he is to everyone else. Or is it just me?" she added the question in a whisper.

Stefan scoffed, "Is that why you were grinning when we arrived here? Let me guess, you were a witness of the rare Mikaelson warmth."

Caroline waved her hands dramatically in the air. "You make it sound like a bad thing. You were the one who said to give them a chance, like five seconds ago."

"Yes, I did." He relieved her hand from the grilling equipment before she could hurt the both of them. "But you don't have to wear yourself out by trying to figure them all out in one go. It took me years. I recognize that look on your face, you're frustrated because you can't read them."

"You think?"

He followed her line of sight and caught her staring at Klaus who was now whispering to Kol. "Caroline." He tried to get her attention until she snapped out of her intense gazing.

"What?" she asked lamely, her cheeks heating in embarrassment. "I'm just observing them."

"I didn't say anything. But if it helps, you can't just dive in, head first, if you're going to come up with a conclusion about them."

"I barely understand the introduction, who said anything about me getting anywhere close to a conclusion?" she lifted her shoulders and chuckled mirthlessly. "And I'm not staring at him."

Stefan raised his eyebrows at her, taking none of her unsatisfactory comeback. "You don't have to lie to me Care. Your secret's safe with me. Besides, maybe he could use a little cheering up."

Caroline scoffed and crossed her arms over chest, "He needs a little more than just a cheering up."

"So you are staring at Klaus." He was already containing his laughter as he watched his best friend blush even more furiously, he pressed his lips together in an attempt to quell a grin.

X

X

X

"Where's Henrik?" Caroline asked to no one in particular when she went back from the house to retrieve bags of marshmallow for the s'mores. "We're just getting started with dessert." She opened them and gave them out to everyone.

Kol answered her in between bites of steak, "Gone running to his room, don't worry, that happens a lot when he has his moments."

"Don't we all." His sister grumbled from where she sat beside Stefan, rubbing her hands together to warm them.

"He'll be okay. Besides, he might be getting tired listening to these people talk." Stefan commented jovially and Rebekah shoved his side with a bashful grin. "And I resent that, s'mores isn't just for dessert, it is staple food." he exclaimed as he took some marshmallow and placed it on one end of a stick.

Kol held the plate of graham crackers and chocolates in front of him with a puzzled look, "What am I supposed to do with these?"

Caroline giggled and she gaped at him with a stunned expression, "You never had one before?" The siblings just looked at her cluelessly, Stefan on the other hand kept his lips on a tight line, his eyes conveying to her not to make fun of it.

She shook her head as she composed herself and took the plate from Kol, in a serious manner she taught them how to make and eat s'mores, and told them in Stefan's words how it is not merely for dessert and that they couldn't just go on a bonfire weekend without having some.

The outdoor dinner had gone surprisingly well, Rebekah hadn't been really untoward in their civil exchanges, Kol had only snickered her way twice before his older brother smacked the back of his head and threatened to barbecue him next if another innuendo makes it past his lips, and Klaus had contributed to the conversation minutely, grunting in affirmation when needed, scoffed at particular opinions which he negated, nodded in acknowledgement of the topics he was somehow knowledgeable or interested in.

Caroline was grateful for the presence of her best friend, it was nice seeing the Mikaelsons interact with someone that isn't their kin, they were courteous and agreeable in relation to her parents but it was different seeing them with someone that they consider as a friend. When she realized that they never had s'mores or probably camping trips during their childhood, it made her heart ache for them uncomfortably.

For someone who seemed to have everything in the world, power, wealth, family, it seemed like there were gaps in their life that couldn't be filled with the world's material provisions. With Stefan there with her, he helped her see that. But still, she couldn't help but hear the nagging voice at the back of her head, telling her that stories can run deeper than what she sees on the surface, they can't be just what she sees in them or what they choose for her to see, there's got to be something, something more.

For that night though, she will settle for what is actually there.

"Your lake house reminds me of that quaint little town in Scotland, last time we've been there we went to a house similar to the one you got here." Kol reminisced as he wiped off the chocolate off his lips and licked his fingers, ignoring the sound of disgust from his sister, "We spent some time there, it was a recluse area that no one frequented, people around shared whispers of a murder that happened in the shed behind the house. They said when they pass the house at a particular day they could hear the screams coming from it."

"Please don't compare it to our lake house." Caroline pleaded as she closed her eyes, trying to erase that tale from her mind, lest she'll recall it during bedtime.

"So, we're sharing ghost stories now?" Rebekah hissed menacingly but she clutched her jacket around her more tightly.

Her brother snorted, "You're just scared, I bet you heard the voices at least once."

She narrowed her eyes at Kol and threw a pebble at his direction. "They're only stories you dumb ass. That's what happens when you listen to old maidens' gossip."

"They're not!" he retorted, aghast. "Well then, could you explain to me how come we could hear footsteps in the hallway at night when everyone would claim they were asleep?"

"That was me, I shared a room with Elijah but he snores too loud so I had to get up and find something to eat or read instead." Klaus spoke, his eyes casted to the ground, his portion only half eaten on his plate.

Kol rolled his eyes at his brother's uncooperativeness, "How about that time we found Henrik's toys in the shed, it had been missing for days, I definitely didn't steal them and not even for the sake of pranks, not Rebekah, not anyone."

"I heard it was your father who did that." Stefan supplied unsurely, looking from one person to another. "Or not." He followed up rapidly.

"Because God forbid he would let his children play." Rebekah muttered, her eyes widening slightly as she caught herself saying it out loud.

"Rebekah." Klaus chastised her sternly.

Their brother cleared his throat to cut the tension, taking everyone's attention back to him. "As I was saying, there was really some nasty shit going on at that place. Believe it or not the whispers are not meant for nothing, besides it's the locals who know it better than anyone else."

"They didn't even have eye witnesses, nothing to back up that story. And that's what it always will be, a story." The blonde reasoned out, she was quick to recover from the momentary slip earlier and Caroline was caught between being impressed and dubious about her, she listened silently as they debated on the authenticity of the tale.

"For what it's worth, I think it wouldn't be too easy for an eye witness to be standing up in front of the townspeople and admit to have been present in the said crime." Kol pushed, not letting his siblings counter arguments deter him from proving his side, "Who would be brave enough to stand there when they are being haunted by the killer's ghost?"

His sister rolled her eyes as she sighed at her brother's tenacity, "And now the killer is haunting the town too, good to know." She gave him a sarcastic grin.

Kol attempted to make his voice more frightening when he lowered it as he spoke, "Some say that he was responsible for the death of the property's caretaker, that person was certainly the witness, and therefore should be eliminated. The people found him sprawled out on his living room, said he had a heart attack."

"Exactly, he died of heart disease, not because some unquiet soul was haunting him." His sister stated out immediately with a triumphant beam. "Who knows, he must've already been suffering from a long term illness before that. And what would be the point of killing a witness when the perpetrator is dead? It makes no sense."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you."

Kol shook his head but was relentless in his tirades, "What do you know? You have no idea of the horrors of seeing someone die or dead in front of you."

"And you do?" Rebekah was no different from him as she questioned all of his rationalizations.

"I don't, maybe we could ask Nik here, enlighten us onto the subject of finding someone dead in your kitchen…"

"Kol!" Stefan interrupted him.

All eyes went to Klaus who had dropped both his plate and the bottle of beer he was nursing on the ground. His eyes were staring at the fire with a rage that could consume it, his jaw set in a hard line, the muscles in his arms bunching underneath his shirt as he fisted both of his hands.

Caroline wasn't able to suppress the gasp that left her lips after Kol accidently divulged the information at the heat of the moment. She looked at Klaus and just like that time she was there in Mystic Falls, wandering about their house, she could pinpoint the flashes of emotions in his eyes that were barely concealed by the shadows and the flickering fire. Rage, grief, disappointment, longing.

Before anyone could move or even utter a word, he rose and turned to the direction of the house without sparing anyone a glance. "I'm tired." He muttered in a quiet, sullen voice.

And just like that, the comfortable moment was gone.

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The awkward tension had not gone down one bit, if anything it had just been aggravated by the fact that Rebekah can't even scold her brother in front of Caroline and chose to fume on her seat and glare daggers towards Kol, her eyes screaming for her instead. Caroline could practically imagine the steam coming out of her ears.

Before the female Mikaelson could eventually combust, Caroline excused herself and picked up the used plates and utensils to start cleaning up. Stefan offered to help her but she subtly insisted that he stay to referee just in case things start to get out of hand.

She watched them from the minimal view that her kitchen window had afforded. Rebekah was basically hounding over Kol and for once since their arrival, Caroline had seen him actually look pretty much devastated and remorseful, a far cry from his usual jeering air. He didn't even seem to have the fight to speak up and defend himself from his sister's incessant scowls and harangues, he had his head bent and his eyes never left the ground.

Giving them the privacy she was apparently taking from them, she left the dirty items on the sink, hoping it wouldn't grow an arm or two when it stays unclean all throughout the night. Eavesdropping doesn't entirely make her a pleasant host, even if she's far enough that she couldn't make out the words spilling from the furious blonde.

Even though she had sufficient alcohol in her system that would've made her tipsy on other occasions, she particularly wasn't crazy about going to bed so soon. The night had swiftly transpired from carefree and calm, to awkward and tensed. She had been honest when she told Stefan she would give the family a chance, give them the benefit of the doubt.

He was right, she thought as she opened the front door that led to the wraparound porch, she couldn't just give her verdict upon seeing only one side of them. People are complex, one can't just define them by a singular description. It just doesn't work like that.

The lamp was lit and it casted a dim glow on the porch, making the surroundings darker than it actually is. She could hear a distant bird twitting softly, its wings making a whispering flutter in the air. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body as the wind swept, chilly on her skin.

It was there that Caroline found Klaus, seated on the wooden bench, the one which her dad painted white years ago but the color has peeled off and had faded on some areas. His hands were folded in front of him with his elbows on his knees, eyes cast afar, like it usually did.

Caroline shuffled on her feet, unsure of what to do, she really thought he'd gone straight off to bed after he dashed away from the group earlier. She wanted to say something, anything to break the tension Kol had unintentionally created, she didn't want it to sound like she was nosy nor did she want him to think that she was meddling in things she wasn't supposed to, besides, isn't that what he had been telling her since the first time they met?

She didn't want to run off with her tail between her legs either so she settled with staying no matter if the silence would be muffling for the both of them. She walked forward towards the railing and leant on it, closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh scent of the air, only a non polluted atmosphere could provide.

"Can't sleep?"

Caroline whipped her head behind her, the movement almost causing her to wince from the mere speed of it. Klaus was still looking away but he had a more relaxed form and had leant back on the bench instead.

"Um, no. You?" She threw his question back at him as she fiddled with her fingers, words seemed to flee away from her. She waited with bated breath, she didn't exactly expect him to speak for the duration of their moment on the porch, earlier then he seemed content on ignoring her presence.

He was silent for a while, as if the question was taking a toll on him to answer. "I don't necessarily intend to sleep so early in the night," was his quiet answer.

"Me neither." Caroline supplied for him. "I would like to sleep when I'm dead tired, going to bed before that would just be a torture, the mind conjures the things one most rather not think about on that very unholy time." She resumed her position earlier and gazed on the deep blue sky, the stars flicking their bright gleam. "It's a beautiful night."

Klaus remained unspeaking from his seat but neither did Caroline suppose him to actually carry on with their small talk. She thought maybe he did that just so he wouldn't appear to be a total dick. Nevertheless, the silence did not seem so constricting.

"It was Mrs. S." he spoke in a hushed tone after a stretch of time. His eyes flicked towards her momentarily and he saw her eyes widen, her mouth slightly hung open in shock. He hung his head low and his eyes left hers, unable to look into them as he spoke. "I had just gotten home from an errand my mother asked from me. I was eleven. She was sprawled on the kitchen floor. I screamed. The next moment was a flurry of people, people and events I couldn't quite recall."

Caroline shook her head, her eyes conveying the words she couldn't quite find, a soft, empathic 'I'm sorry' was all that came from her lips.

Klaus shrugged his shoulders, not in a nonchalant way but more of a helpless way that made her imagine an eleven year old boy, screaming in a kitchen for help.

"I just thought you should know. I believe you knew her from your regular visits to our house in Mystic Falls."

She stepped forward until she was standing right beside the bench he had occupied and gestured with her hand if she could join him, he gave her a small nod in response.

"She was so nice to me." She stated in a small voice as she placed her hands together on her lap. "Nice doesn't even cover it." Tears were gathering on her lids and she had to stop herself from sniffling loudly. "She would give me her baked goodies every time I came to deliver something, my mom would smile at me every time I arrive home, arms laden with pastries or cakes."

Klaus nodded in agreement. "She made the best."

"It must have been awful." Caroline exclaimed quietly before she can stop herself but realized quickly how insensitive it might have sounded to him so she clamped a hand over her mouth and a muffled apology tumbled from her lips. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know." He responded after a beat.

The both of them fell into a contemplating silence. The stillness of the night was punctuated by the absence of leaves ruffling against the wind which has ceased its motion a while ago, even the bird seemed to have perched on some place else.

She couldn't help but eye him contemplatively, she glanced cautiously at him although she could tell that his face was probably burning from her gaze, it remained passive although his eyes, always his eyes, would tell so differently.

"Thank you. For telling me." Caroline whispered sincerely, her hands itched to reach out and smooth the lines that appeared momentarily on his face but when he looked back at her, there was no trace or hint from him that would appreciate the gesture, so she held it in place. "It's not like I'm making assumptions about how you felt, but I could just imagine how hard it was for you, how hard it must be now to even say it out loud."

His hands turned into fists, his jaw tightened and his eyes turned hard and grim. He looked away then, unwilling to let her see just how much it still affects him. "Like I said, I thought you should know, I believe you make it to the list of people she cared about." Although his tone was cold and distant, there was no denying the emotions that swirled underneath the pretense.

Her heart swelled as he said this. First, knowing someone cares for you because their actions tell you so is one thing but hearing it out loud, in words, make an entirely different level of bliss bloom in her chest. Second, hearing Klaus even talk about people caring, is both unnerving and pleasant, for someone who most of the time, seem to brood and appear indifferent and stoic, it took some moment for her mind to wrap around what he just said.

Caroline smiled so genuinely that when he looked up to see her face, he looked almost proud of himself for causing that smile to emerge. But he looked away abruptly, fixing his expression like he didn't notice anything.

They parted ways later with an understanding nod towards each other, no matter how antagonistic their previous meetings had been, at that time, they shared something that was more valuable than the prior verbal back and forth between them.

"Aren't you heading inside yet?" she asked him as she opened the front door to get upstairs and settle in her comfortable and warm bed that was just waiting for her to be tucked into.

"I think I'll stay up for a while." He locked his gaze on her kindly, the softest she had ever seen from him. "After all, it's a beautiful night."

Her dreams that night were filled with the fluttering of the wind, a mild, masculine scent, and benches with peeled off paints.

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**tbc **

**A/N: Long wait? My apologies! Our internet connection was down and I am dying because of it. How is everyone? I hope you liked this chapter, this is actually sort of a break from the tension built between our lovely characters. I hope you like the little Halloween twist too!**

**BTW, Orphan Black watchers, the Mikaelson nanny being named Mrs. S is highly coincidental. I only found out a few weeks ago, right after I named that original character, lol.**

**Drop me a review, pretty please?**


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